THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
y, 
SENATE 
j. 
S. Nb. 
INTRODUCED BY HON. MANUEL B. VILLAR JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution provides that: 
Article 2, Section 12. xxx The natural and primacy right and duty of 
parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of 
moral character shall receive the support of the Government. 
Article 2, Section 13. The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in 
nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, 
intellectual and social well-being. 
The number of children living in homes, where both parents work or where the chldren 
are living with a single parent who works, has increased dramatically in recent years. In addition, 
the changing role and status of women has resulted in steadily increasing numbers of working 
women from all income levels and social groups. This means that more families now require 
child-care services. 
The years fiom zero to six are especially important in the development of a child, and the 
care which children receive during these years is critical to their developmental process. Good 
quality care addresses these needs by providing a safe and stimulating environment and a 
program designed to foster the child's physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development. 
However, there is a lack of adequate child care facilities across the country and there is 
very little coordination among those that do exist. In addition, many parents are unable to afford 
quality child care services and do not receive any financial assistance for such services through 
established programs. 
The purposes of this Act are: (1) to promote the availability and diversity of quality child 
care services for all children and fhilies who need such services; (2) to provide financial 
assistance to families whose income is insufficient to pay the full cost of necessary child care 
services; (3) to provide technical and financial assistance to local governments in improving the 
quality, quantity, and coordination of child care programs; (4) to provide assistance to child care 
providers as well as promote incentives to improve the quality of service and to expand the 
population served; (5) to provide mechanisms for assessing the extent of the need for child care 
' services; and (6) to promote coordination of child care programs and other servjqes for children 
and families at all governmental levels. 
MANUEL B. ILLAR, JR. 
t 


cui4 30 P9 :09 
1, 
8 C l  
~~~~~~j~~ 
BY : 
THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
s. No; 
53 
~~ 
INTRODUCED BY HON. MANUEL B. VELAR JR. 
AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN AND 
FUNCTIONING OF FAMILIES BY ESTABLISHING A COMPREHENSIVE CHILD 
CARE PROGRAM 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
Section 1. Short Title-This Act shall known as the "Child and Family Development Act." 
Section 2. Definition of Child Care Services - For the purposes of this Act, the term 
"child care services" includes any organized service, chosen by parents for the education and 
care of their children for some portion of the day or night , that is designed to supplement, 
strengthen, and support parental care. Child care services must be considered as developmental in 
that the child's physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development is fostered and the 
parents skills in parenting are enhanced. Health and nutrition services must be available for 
elective (optional) use by the consumers. Child care services may be made available in such 
diverse facilities as family day care homes, full-and-half-day child development centers, and after 
school and summer programs for school-age children. 
Section 3. Comprehensive Plan And Program For Child Care Services. - (a) The 
Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and development (here called the t'Secretaryll) 
shall undertake and carry out a complete study and assessment of child care needs in the 
Philippines. In carrying out such study and assessment, the Secretary shall give due consideration 
to existing variations in child care needs as between different regions and as between urban, 
rural, and other areas, and shall evaluate the effectiveness of the child care services and programs 


presently available in each such region and area, in meeting such needs. The Secretary shall 
complete such study and assessment, and transmit the results thereof to the Congress, within 
ninety after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) On the basis of the study and assessment carried out under subsection (A), the 
Secretary shall prepare and promulgate a comprehensive plan and program to assure that all of 
the child care services which are necessary to meet the nation's child care needs and to carry out 
the purpose of this Act are made available and effectively provided. Such plan and program shall 
at minimum: 
(1) include a plan designed to meet the need for child care services within each 
region for infants, preschool children, and school-age children, with special 
attention given to meeting the needs of victims of child abuse and neglect, 
migrant children, handicapped children, children of teenage parents, and other 
groups of children having special needs, and with parental involvement at 
every level of planning, monitoring, and evaluation of programs as wells as in 
the actual provision of services; 
(2) provide for coordination, to the maximum extent feasible, of the child care 
services furnished and child care programs conducted under all other laws, 
and for coordination of the services furnished and activities conducted under 
this Act with the services and activities under such other laws with a view to 
expanding and improving the provision of services under services under 
existing child care programs rather than proliferating them; 
(3) incorporate the provisions required by Section 4 (relating to distribution of 
available child care finds) Section 5 (relating to provision of additional 
government fimds to improve child care programs), Section 6 (relating to 
incentives for development of improve child care facilities), and Section 7 
(relating to administration). 


(c) The comprehensive plan and program prepared and promulgated under subsection (b) 
shall be promptly transmitted to the Congress, along with the Secretary’s recommendations for 
legislation to provide any statutory authority which may be necessary for its implementation. 
(d) The comprehensive plan and program shall take effect at such time as may be 
specified therein, but in no event earlier than the first calendar quarter which begins thirty days or 
more after the date on which it is transmitted to the Congress. 
(e) The secretary may from time to time develop modifications to the comprehensive plan 
and program to take account of changing circumstances or to reflect experience in its operation 
and administration. Any such modification shall be transmitted to the Congress, and shall take 
effect, in the manner provided (with respect to the original plan and program) under subsections 
(c) and (d). 
Section 4. Distribution of Available Child Care funds - The comprehensive plan and 
program prepared and promulgated under Section 3(b) shall include such provisions and 
requirements as may be necessary or appropriate to assure to the maximum extent feasible, in the 
distribution of government funds made available for child care services under this or any other 
Act, that: 
(1) priority will be given to child care providers which: 
(A) are licensed or eligible for licensing under the highest applicable standards 
regarding group size and composition, teacher-pupil ratio, qualification of 
providers, physical environment, parental involvement, and necessary support 
services; 
(B) will give priority of services to children on the basis of family need (taking 
into account income, family size, and special needs of children from one- 
parent households), with the greatest possible economic mix of children; 
(C) will establish and maintain a reasonable fee schedule based upon services 
provided and family income, with no fee being charged for services to 
children from families whose income is between 80 per centum of the 
regional median income, with income-related fees being charged for services 


to children from families whose income is between 80 and 150 per centum of 
the regional median income, and with full fees being charged for services to 
children from families whose income is above 150 per centum of the regional 
median income; 
(D) will give due consideration to the cost of staff for parent involvement, 
supportive social services, and parent education activities in establishing their 
child care per diem rates; and 
(2) diversity and differential use of child care services will be encouraged and promoted 
to the maximum possible extent. 
SECTION 5 , Provision of Additional Federal Funds to Improve Child Care 
Programs - In order to assist in improving the quality and administration of child care programs 
and services, the comprehensive plan and program prepared and promulgated under Section 3 (b) 
shall include: 
(1) provision for technical assistance to local government units to encourage and enable 
them to upgrade their licensing requirements and to formulate improved licensing and 
monitoring procedures, with supplementary allotment for the training and 
employment of qualified local stafc and 
(2) provision for the establishment ( by grant or contract) of training programs for child 
care personnel and family educators, with special subsidies being paid to programs in 
which the training leads to continuing degrees in early childhood education, and with 
tuition and maintenance stipends being awarded to persons who are continuing their 
education with a view to accreditation or certification in childhood and family 
education, social work (child welfare) , or child development and who are willing to 
commit themselves to employment in .a child care facility for at least one year for each 
academic year of education completed with the assistance of such an award. 
SECTION 6.Incentives for Development of Improved Child Care Facilities. 


(a) In order to encourage and provide incentives for the development of new child care facilities 
and the maintenance and improvement of existing ones, the comprehensive plan and program 
prepared and promulgated under Section 3(b) shall provide for: 
(1) annual subsidies to child care facilities serving children whose parents have incomes 
below the poverty level, to assist such facilities in meeting the applicable standards; 
(2) loans or other financial assistance to private not-for-profit child care facilities, in 
amounts up to 75 per centum of the costs involved (with the remainder of such costs 
coming from other sources) to aid in their construction or renovation; 
(3) grants to defray a portion of the interest payable by proprietary child care facilities on 
loans obtained from non-government sources for the renovation of their premises to 
meet applicable licensing standards, in amounts equal to 75 per centum of the total 
interest payable on any such loan during its first year, 50 per centum of the total 
interest payable during its second year, and 25 per centum of the total interest payable 
during its third year; and 
(4) grants to proprietary child care facilities to assist in serving children who are eligible 
for other government funded child care programs. 
(b) Except as otherwise specifically provided in subsection (a), the amount and other 
terms and Conditions of any assistance furnished to the child care facility as described in such 
subsection shall be determined by the Secretary on the basis of the need for such assistance and 
in such manner as will most effectively carry out the purpose of this Act. 
(c) For purposes of subsection (a)(3) and otherwise, the Secretary shall assist small 
individually owned child care facilities in obtaining low-cost financing and small business loans 
to be used in the renovation of such facilities. 
(d) As a further incentives for the construction or renovation of child care facilities to aid 
in carrying out the purposes of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and recommend legislation 
providing: 
(1) tax credits, in amounts based on the number of children served and the qualifications 
of the staff, for proprietary child care facilities which meet applicable standards, 


provide information and referral services, and have substantial parent involvement; 
and 
(2) income tax deductions for licensed providers of family care which are integrally 
affiliated with licensed group care facilities. 
SECTION 7. Administrative Provisions - (a) The comprehensive plan and program 
prepared and promulgated under section 3 (b) shall establish procedures for the collection and 
evaluation of data designed to show how child care needs in each region are being met, or not 
met, under this Act, giving particular attention to the increased availability of services and to any 
changes in the length or composition of waiting lists. 
(b) The Secretary shall take such steps as may be necessary to assure the establishment 
within each region of an advisory panel to review child care programs and to recommend policy 
and policy revisions. At least 25 per centum of the members of any such panel shall be parents of 
children receiving child care with the assistance under this Act, at least 25 per centum shall be 
representatives of child care providers within the region, and at least 25 per centum shall be 
professionals in the field of child development and child welfare. The Secretary shall maintain 
regular communication with the advisory panels established pursuant to this subsection, and shall 
take their views, comments and recommendations fully into related programs. 
SECTION 8. Annual Report - The Secretary shall submit annually to the Congress a full 
and complete report on the administration and operation of this Act and of the comprehensive 
plan and program prepared and promulgated under section 3(b), with particular emphasis upon 
the extent to which child care services and programs under this Act and under such 
comprehensive plan and program have succeeded in meeting the nation's child care needs and 
have otherwise contributed to the achievement of the purpose and objectives of this Act. The 
report shall include or be accompanied by such recommendations as the Secretary may have 
further legislative, administrative, or other actions to carry out such purpose and objectives. 
SECTION 9 . Appropriations - To carry out the provisions of this Act, such sum as may 
be necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury. Thereafter, the 


sum necessary for the continuous operation of the program shall be included in the annual 
appropriation of the Department of Social Welfare and Development. 
SECTION 10. Separability Clause - If any provision, or part hereof, is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision shall remain valid and subsisting. 
SECTION 11. Repealing Clause - Any law presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
with, the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended accordingly. 
SECTION 12. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved,