EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
SENATE 
S. B. NO. S 5 8
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RECEIViO B” :
Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE BARANGAY DAY CARE 
SYSTEM, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT 
NO. 6972 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE BARANGAY-LEVEL 
TOTAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN 
ACT AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Constitution has enshrined several protections to safeguard the 
welfare of children. One of these is in Article XIV, Section 1 of the 1987 
Constitution, where the State is mandated to "protect and promote the right of 
all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to 
make education accessible to all.” In line with this agenda, previous 
administrations have passed measures and implemented policies which aim 
to achieve these lofty goals.
For the day care sector. Presidential Decree No. 1567 mandated the 
creation of barangay day care centers across the country. To strengthen this 
policy thrust, the legislature passed Republic Act No. 6972 in 1990 to expand 
the roles of day care centers to include growth and nutritional monitoring, and 
barangay assistance programs. In 2000, Republic Act No. 8980 further 
created a comprehensive policy framework for early childhood.
However, several years since the passage of these statutes, 
experience has shown that more needs to be done to improve the quality of, 
and accessibility to, day care centers in the country. Data from Department of 
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) show that in 2000, only 32,787 
barangays established day care facilities as compared to the targeted 41,924


barangays.1 This translates to a mere 72% accomplishment rate with 
reference to the standard set down by Presidential Decree No. 1567, which 
mandated the creation of a day care center in every barangay with at least 
100 family heads residing therein. The same study also bemoaned the 
inadequacy of facilities in barangay day care centers, with day care centers 
only servicing one million children as compared to a 12 million population of 
two to six year olds that year.
Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reports 
that 31% of working-age women were not in the labor force in 2011 due to 
household or family duties.2 3 This means that lack of child care support is a 
barrier to a woman’s opportunity to seek employment.
This bill seeks to address the lack of and accessibility to day care 
centers, as well as expand the opportunities for women to seek employment, 
by strengthening the mandate of day care centers by ensuring that day care 
services are available for the whole duration of the work hours of the working 
parents and an additional two hours to account for the travel time of the 
parent to the day center to fetch their child/children, and providing child care 
financial assistance to parents who are minimum wage earners. This bill also 
seeks to bridge the gender gap between men and women with regard to child 
care by clarifying that child care services are available to children of "working 
parents" and not merely to “working mothers.”
The immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
EL VILLANUEVA
1 Abulon, Edna Luz. Barangay Day Care Centers: Emergence, Current Status and Implications to Teacher 
Education 
2013 
Retrieved 
from:
https://worldconferences.net/proceedings/gse2013/papers. gse2013/094%20Edna%20Luz%20R.%20Abuton.pdf 
(date last accessed: July 23. 2019).
3 Gender Eguality in the Labor Market in the Philippines, at p. 11. citing DOLE Decent Work Statistics Online 
Database 
Asian 
Development 
Bank 
(2013). 
Retrieved 
from:
https://www adb org/sites/default/files/publication/31194/gender-egualitv-labor-market-philippines.pdf 
(date 
last 
accessed: July 23. 2019)


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
V 
o( tljc
SENATE 
S. B. NO. 8 5 8
•IJ N)6-5 P5 ;M
RECEIVl J  S.' £
Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
AN ACT STRENGTHENING THE BARANGAY DAY CARE SYSTEM, 
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6972 
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE BARANGAY-LEVEL TOTAL 
DEVELOPMENT AND PROTECTION OF CHILDREN ACT AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
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SECTION 1. Short Title.
Assistance Act."
-  This Act shall be known as the “Child Care
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. -  The State recognizes the Filipino family as 
the foundation of the nation. Towards this end, the State shall defend the right 
of children to assistance, which includes proper care and nutrition and 
establish, maintain, and support a system of education relevant to the needs 
of people and society.
SEC. 3. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 6972, otherwise known as the 
Barangay-Level Total Development and Protection of Children Act, is hereby 
amended to read as follows:
Section 3. Program Framework. -  The total development and protection 
of children program for day care centers shall be provided for children up 
to six (6) years of age with the consent of parents: provided, however, 
that, in case of abused, neglected or exploited children, such consent 
shall not be required. The program shall include the following:
(c) Care for children of working PARENTS [mothers] during the day and, 
where feasible, care for children up to six (6) years of age when BOTH


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PARENTS [mothers] are working at night: PROVIDED, THAT SUCH 
CARE SHALL LAST DURING THE WORK HOURS OF THE WORKING 
PARENT/S AND AN ADDITIONAL TIME OF UP TO TWO HOURS; 
PROVIDED FURTHER, THAT THE BARANGAY DAY CARE CENTER 
SHALL HAVE THE DISCRETION TO COLLECT A REASONABLE FEE 
FOR CHILD CARE SERVICES RENDERED BEYOND TEN (10) 
HOURS; provided FURTHER, that the day care center need not to take 
care of children in a particular place but shall develop network of homes 
where women may take care of the children up to six (6) years of age of 
working [mothers] PARENTS during work hours, with adequate 
supervision from the supervising social welfare officer of the Department 
of Social Welfare and Development: provided, further, that, where young 
children are left to the care of paid domestic, an elderly relative or older 
children without adequate and competent adult supervision, the 
supervising social welfare officer shall provide such training and adult 
supervision until the children's care meets adequate standards whereby 
the children under their care will develop normally as healthy, happy and 
loved children, even in the absence of their mothers during working 
hours;
SEC. 4. A new Section 5-A is hereby inserted to read as follows:
SECTION 
5-A. 
CHILD 
CARE 
ASSISTANCE. 
-  
FINANCIAL 
ASSISTANCE FOR THE PAYMENT OF CHILD CARE SERVICES FOR 
CHILDREN NOT MORE THAN SIX (6) YEARS OLD SHALL BE 
PROVIDED BY THE GOVERNMENT, THRU THE DEPARTMENT OF 
SOCIAL WELFARE AND DEVELOPMENT; PROVIDED, THAT SUCH 
ASSISTANCE SHALL ONLY BE GRANTED TO PARENT/S WHO ARE 
MINIMUM WAGE EARNERS; PROVIDED FURTHER, THAT SUCH 
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE SHALL BE PAID DIRECTLY TO THE 
ACCREDITED PRIVATE DAY CARE CENTER AS FEE REDUCTION.
SEC. 5. Appropriations. -  An amount of Fifty Million Pesos (P50,000,000.00) 
shall be appropriated for the initial year of implementation of this Act. 
Thereafter, the amount necessary for the proper implementation of this Act 
shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
SEC. 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations. -  Within sixty (60) days from 
the implementation of this Act, the Department of Social Welfare and 
Development, in coordination with other relevant government agencies and 
upon consultation with relevant stakeholders, shall issue the implementing 
rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.
SEC. 7. Separability Clause. -  Any portion or provisions of this Act that may 
be declared unconstitutional or invalid shall not have the effect of nullifying 
other portions and provisions hereof as long as such remaining portions or 
provisions can still subsist and be given effect in their entirety.


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SEC. 8. Repealing Clause. -  All laws, decrees, executive orders, 
proclamations and administrative regulations, or any parts thereof inconsistent 
herewith are hereby revoked, repealed or modified accordingly.
SEC. 9. Effectivity Clause. -  This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 
its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national papers of 
general circulation.
Approved,