THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The first six years of life are known as the formative years. The kind and quality 
of care given during this period is, therefore, very crucial. 
The parents, under normal circumstances, play a major role in enriching the 
child's environment as the primary sources of learning and developmental experiences. 
However, this may not be the case in over seventy percent of the Filipino homes were 
many poor parents have insufficient resources, knowledge, and opportunities to 
promote early childhood training. 
The increasing number of street children, the low achievement levels in 
elementary education despite huge investments by the Government, and the inability of 
many young children to complete schooling are among the problems attributed to 
inadequate parental guidance and attention. 
Mothers may become so preoccupied with office or farm work that they can no 
longer attend to the needs of the children. In families where there many children, 
mothers may not be able to attend to the needs of their pre-school children as priority 
has to be given to the care of infants and younger children. 
It is for these reasons that Women's Community Support Centers are sought to 
be established. The centers will not only provide substitute maternal care for children, 
but would also serve as a center through which the livelihood programs, literacy 
programs and the population program of the Government may be brought to the 
grassroots. It is hope that the centers may serve' as a complete support system for 
working women. 
RCITO ESTRADA II: 


THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
S. No. 
9785 
Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING A BARANGAY DAY CARE AND WOMEN'S SUPPORT 
CENTER IN EVERY BARANGAY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1, This Act shall be known as the "Barangay Day Care and Women's 
Support Center Act of 2004. 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the State 
to support the establishment and maintenance of Barangay Day Care and Women's 
Support Centers in depressed barangays in order to assist disadvantaged women in 
the care of their pre-school children and in the improvement of their productivity and, 
hence, uplift the economic status of their families. 
In the pursuit of this policy, due consideration shall be given to the right and 
needs of the children, age zero to six, to services necessary for their wholesome 
physical, mental, and social development. 
SECTION 3. Establishment of a Barangay Day Care and Women's Support 
Center. - A Barangay Day Care and Women's Support Center, hereinafter referred to 
as the "Center", shall be established in every depressed barangay in the Philippines as 
shall be determined by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), 
taking into accounts the socioeconomic profile' of barangays, sanitation, conditions, 
health status of residents, number of disadvantage women, number of children aged 
zero to six, presence of support mechanismslstructures for women and Children in the 
community. e.g., day care, child minding, supplemental feeding etc. and other factors 
that shall be deemed indicative the need for a Center: Provided, That priority shall be 


given to the most economically depressed areas with the highest percentage of 
disadvantaged women and children. 
Initially, fourteen (14) pilot Centers shall be established in fourteen (14) regions in 
barangays chosen as priority areas. Subsequently, it is envisioned that other Centers 
may be set up under the auspices of the local government andlor non-government 
organizations to implement these provisions. 
SECTION 4. Integration of Barangay Day Care Center with the Center. - 
Whenever a Center is established in a barangay, the resources and/or services of the 
existing barangay day care center, set up by virtue of Presidential Decree No, 1567, 
shall be assumed by the Center. However, all existing barangay day care centers shall 
continue to exist and function as such until the Centers are established in these 
barangays. 
SECTION 5. Programs and Services. - The Center shall be a barangay-based 
facility that shall offer a support program to disadvantaged women and pre-school 
children belonging to the most indigent families in the barangay, as shall be determined 
by the DSWD based on the criteria prescribed in section 3 hereof, and in consultation 
with the prescribed in Section 3 hereof, and in consultation with the respective 
Barangay Councils. The Center shall also serve as a “Drop in and information Center” 
for women in difficult circumstances, e.g., battered, abused, victims of involuntary 
prostitution and victims of illegal recruitment. In particular, the Center shall provide 
among others: 
1. 
Skills Training Services - The skills training their knowledge and skills to 
develop appropriate values in: 
a) 
Self-care and child care skills development which refers to the 
provision of knowledge and skills, teaching of values on selflchild care, including 
personal hygiene, breastfeeding and weaning, child spacing , breast 
examination; environmental sanitation focusing on safe water supply, proper 
refuse disposal, use of sanitary toilets; nutrition education including growth 
monitoring and promotions; usage of herbal 
plants; common children’s 
disorders, encouraging a more active participation in immunization. 
Livelihood skills development which refers to the provision of 
opportunities to engage in productive undertakings/income generating projects 
either through open, sheltered or self-employment. This includes the following 
social works intervention: practical skills development, including but not limited 
b) 


to backyard-gardening, home based aqua culture and livestock raising, job 
referral and counseling, basic business management skills development, etc. 
c) 
Social communication skills development which refers to the 
enhancement of basic communication skills of women to enable them to 
express/communicate better their thoughts, ideas and feelings; 
Self-enhancement skills development which refers to the provision 
of opportunities for empowerment of womenhalue inculcation and value 
transformation to discover their strengths and limitations as well as develop and 
enrich their self-image; and 
Community participation skills development which refers to the 
mobilization of women to create opportunities to relate and interact with other 
women in the community, raise issues and concerns affecting women’s welfare 
and initiate actions on these issues at the community levels. 
d) 
e) 
2. 
Child Minding Service. - This is a scheme of day service whereby 
children aged zero to two (0-2) whose need cannot be met in day care centers because 
they are too young to benefit from their services are taken care of while their mothers 
attend to their work at home or outside the home. 
3. 
Day Care Service. - It is an arrangement whereby substitute mothering is 
provided to children aged two to six (2-6), who are neglected or potentially neglected 
during the day when mothers cannot attend to them due to the following reasons: work, 
large family size, emotional immaturity ill-health of mother or member of the family, and 
poor environment. 
4. 
Health and Nutrition Service. - This encompasses the periodic monitoring 
of the nutritional status of children and the provision of food assistance to combat the 
problem of malnutrition among the pre-school children zero to six (0-6) years old to 
enable them to improve their nutritional level. 
The services may include immunizations and other medical services for common 
diseases suffered by children aged zero to six (0-6) years old. 
5. 
Library. - This refers to the setting of a portion of the center whereby 
reading and other reference materials are made available for use of the women and the 
pre-school children in the community. 


6. 
Protective and 
Counselling 
Services. - These 
shall 
include 
identifyinglmonitoring, providing sanctuary within the barangay andlor referring abused, 
exploited or maltreated women and children to the proper authorities. 
7. 
Other Support Mechanisms - These shall ancompass, among others, 
referral and support systems for safe child delivery by pregnant women. 
The Center shall also have a Foster Mother Pool that shall provide part-time or 
full-time mothering to children aged zero to six (0-6) years old. 
The Barangay 
CouncillBarangay-level Council for the Protection of Children shall be responsible in 
enlisting and selecting the participants to the Foster Mothers Pool from among retirees 
and volunteers in the community. These may undergo a Foster Training course 
conducted by the DSWD with the assistance of the Office of the Municipal Mayor. 
Barangay officials shall encourage the participation of residents and solicit the 
support of various organizations to establish andlor maintain facilities contributory to 
making the environment in the barangay more salutary for the wholesome physical, 
mental and social development of children. 
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of 
Health (DOH). 
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of 
Agriculture (DA) and other government agencies shall coordinate their programs in 
support of the development of women and children with the DSWD. The Secretary of 
the DSWD and the Secretaries of these Departments shall work out how those 
programs can be integrated into the services that shall be provided by the Centers are 
made available for use of the women and the pre-school children in the community. 
8. 
Protective 
and 
Counselling 
Services. - These 
shall 
include 
identifyinglmonitoring, providing sanctuary within the barangay and/or referring abused, 
exploited or maltreated women and children to the proper authorities. 
9. 
Other Support Mechanisms - These shall encompass, among others, 
referral and support systems for safe child delivery by pregnant women. 
The Center shall also have a Foster Mother Pool that shall provide part-time or 
full-time mothering to children aged zer to six (0-6) years old. 
The Barangay 
CouncillBarangay-level Council for the Protection of Children shall be responsible in 
enlisting and selecting the participants to the Foster Mothers Pool from among retirees 


and volunteers in the community. 
conducted by the DSWD with the assistance of the Office of the Municipal Mayor. 
These may undergo a Foster Training course 
Barangay officials shall encourage the participation of residents and solicit the 
support of various organizations to establish and/or maintain facilities contributory to 
making the environment in the barangay more salutary for the wholesome physical, 
mental and social development of children. 
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of 
Health (DOH), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of 
Agriculture (DA) and other government agencies shall coordinate their programs in 
support of the development of women and children with the DSWD. The Secretary of 
the DSWD and the Secretaries of these Departments shall work out how these 
programs can be integrated into the services that shall be provided by the Centers. 
SECTION 6. Operation and Maintenance. - 
(a) 
Minimum Requirements. - A Center must be located in an area which is 
safe and well-ventilated and must have adequate toilet and washing facilities within or 
near its premises. 
(b) Maintenance. - Local Government Units (LGUs) are hereby encouraged to 
solicit the support of non-government organizations (NGOs) and other civic-minded 
individuals in maintaining the Centers and in establishing a network of support 
mechanisms, e.g., volunteer manpower. 
over the activities/services offered by the Center. 
(c ) 
Overall Authority Over Activities. -The DSWD shall have overall authority 
SECTION 7. Personnel. - The Center shall be staffed with at least one (1) 
female and one (1) social worker of good health and competent enough to provide , 
assist and/or supervise the services offered by the Centers. Nursery workers in the 
Centers and accredited barangay day care centers shall receive a monthly allowance 
of not less than five hundred pesos (P 500.00). Furthermore, support manpower for the 
Centers may consist of the following; 
1. Members of the Foster Mothers Pool; 
2. Other Volunteers from the private or public sector, including members of 
socio-civic organizations, out of school youths or students on vacation; 
3. Mothers; 
4. Students enrolled in practicum courses majoring in social works and other 
related fields: and 


5. Orders as may be determined by the DSWD in consultation with the local 
Government Units. 
The Barangay Council/Barangay level Council for the Protection of children shall 
arrange the shifting of the volunteers to help run the Center. In case where there are 
few volunteers, the Barangay CounciVBarangay level Council for the Protection of 
Children shall take charge in devising a system whereby women in the barangay may 
take turn in providing the support manpower. 
The Barangay Captain shall be 
responsible in coordinating the schedules of the community participants with the local 
DSWD personnel in charge of a certain barangay. 
SECTION 8. Sponsorship of CentersBarangay Day Care Centers. - Any 
private person, group, organization or business entitle with juridical personality may 
sponsor a Centedbarangay day care center. An applicant for sponsorship must submit 
a letter of application to the DSWD stating its purpose and objectives in sponsoring a 
Center/barangay day care center and also indicating the location of the 
Centerlbarangay day care center which the applicant wishes to sponsor. The DSWD 
shall act on the application and issue a notice of approval or disapproval of sponsorship 
within thirty (30) days after the receipt of the application. 
A sponsor cannot revise or alter the curriculum of the Sponsored 
Centerlbarangay day care center. It may not sponsor or hold activities which are not 
duly approved by the DSWD. 
The DSWD shall issue the necessary rules and regulations to implement these 
provisions. 
SECTION9. Donations. - The DSWD may receive donations or request of 
property or services which shall be utilized only for the implementation of the program. 
Such donations or requests of property shall be covered by the provisions of the 
National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) exempting such from taxes and other fees 
andlor procedures. 
SECTION I O .  Funding/Appropriations. - An initial outlay of Fifteen Million 
Pesos (P 15,000,000.00) is hereby authorized to be appropriated to establish Centers in 
depressed barangays chose as priority areas by the DSWD and to support the 
strengthening of the National Center and Laboratorylor Women’s Welfare and 
Development located in Metropolitan Manila. 


. /  
Thereafter, the fund for the establishment, maintenance and operation of Centers 
in every barangay shall be included in the annual appropriations of the Department of 
Social Welfare and Development. 
Funds for the monthly allowance of nursery workers in accredited barangay day 
care centers shall also be charged to the annual appropriations of the DSWD. 
Local Government Units shall provide for their unexpected balance, financial 
assistance for the establishment and maintenance of Centers and barangay day care 
centers within their respective locality. 
A portion of health programs available to the Philippines under official and/or 
unofficial debt arrangement from foreign countries, the amount to be determined by the 
Office of the President, shall be extended in support of Centers and barangay day care 
centers. Commodities under the aid program may be sold to augment the allowances 
of workers of Centers and barangay day care centers. 
SECTION 11. Rules and Regulations. - The DSWD, in consultation with the 
DILG, DOH, DOLE, DECS, DA and others, shall formulate the rules and regulations and 
issue orders and directives as may be needed to implement the provisions of this Act 
within ninety (90) days from the approval of the Act. 
SECTION 12. Repealing Clause. - The provisions of Presidential Decree No. 
1567 and any other laws, decrees and executive orders contrary to or inconsistent with 
this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
SECTION 13. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect upon its approval and 
completion of its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation, 
Approved,