THE House of Representatives pledged support to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s thrust to construct and develop daycares in impoverished areas by ensuring necessary funding allocation, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said on Thursday.
Mr. Marcos last week directed city and municipal governments to build about 328 child development centers in low-income areas across the Philippines to boost the learning of young Filipinos, signing a circular that ordered the earmarking of about P1 billion to back his initiative.
“We have no other aim but to support the President,” Mr. Romualdez said in a statement in Filipino. “Wherever there is a need, that is where we allocate the funds. If the issue is a lack of facilities for children aged 0 to 4, then that is what we will address.”
The Philippine Congress is vested with the power to review the budget proposed by the Executive and reallocate government spending as lawmakers see fit. It is the House that conducts an initial review and deliberation of the budget, forwarding it to the Senate for further evaluation before being sent to the President for approval.
A 2022 World Bank report showed that nine of 10 Filipinos are unable to read and understand age-appropriate text at age 10.
“We still have much to fix in our education system, but this marks the beginning of broader reforms,” said Mr. Romualdez. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
