President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has allocated PhP1 billion for the construction of over 300,000 Barangay Child Development Centers and Bulilit Centers nationwide to address the longstanding lack of daycare facilities.
In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered at the Batasang Pambansa on Monday, President Marcos underscored that education remains a top priority under his administration.
“Puspusan nating inaayos at pinapaganda ang ating sistema ng edukasyon. Sa lahat ng mga pinahahalagahan ng Administrasyon, ito pa rin ang nasa rurok,” President Marcos said.
“Naglaan tayo ng isang bilyon para makapagtayo ng mahigit tatlong daang Barangay Child Development Centers at Bulilit Centers sa buong bansa. At ang pinaka-priority ay ‘yung mga nangangailangan na pook na malalayo,” the President announced.
The Chief Executive also vowed to build 44,000 more classrooms before his term ends and called on Congress to support the endeavor for the sake of the students’ learning.
Nearly 22,000 new classrooms were opened in the last three years under the Marcos administration.
“Hindi na natin dapat nabibitin ang oras nila sa klase dahil sa kakulangan ng classroom. Katuwang ng pribadong sektor, sisikapin nating madagdagan pa ng apatnapung libong silid-aralan bago matapos itong Administrasyon,” the President said.
“Maglalaan tayo ng sapat na pondo para rito. Alang-alang sa ating mga mag-aaral, hihilingin ko ang buong suporta ng ating Kongreso,” President Marcos said.
The President also highlighted other initiatives in support of education, including the intensified implementation of the Early Childhood Care and Development program to ensure the holistic development of Filipino children.
The government also launched the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) program this year aimed at ensuring that Kindergarten to Grade 10 learners have the necessary foundational skills to attain competencies appropriate to their grade level.
The Chief Executive also committed to deploy more school counselors to protect students’ mental health. | PND
