WINNING senatorial bet Camille Villar welcomed on Thursday the signing of Republic Act No. 12199, which prioritizes early education, proper nutrition, and caring support to give young Filipino children, especially those aged zero to five, a strong start in life.
“This law will boost our government’s policies in nurturing our children, from birth to toddler years. I am glad that this law saw the light of day,” said Camille Villar, one of the principal authors of the law at the House of Representatives.
Camille Villar, who has been espousing mother-child care, is happy that under the new law, the government will be conducting efforts to reduce infant and child mortality rates, and subsequently eliminate preventable deaths.
She said the development of children, from birth to their toddler years, is important. Sadly, many Filipino families are unable to fully take care of these needs due to various reasons.
Thus, the creation of the new law, Camille Villar said, which would ensure that adequate health and nutrition programs are accessible to young children and their parents and parent-substitutes, from the prenatal period throughout the early childhood year.
Mother and child development has been part of Camille Villar’s advocacies.
She has strongly-advocated for projects that promote better health for mother-child, and at the same time, supportive of projects such as the “Buntis Congress”.
Handog Karunungan is also one of Camille Villar’s projects. It is a book donation drive aimed at enriching young minds and equipping child development centers in Las Piñas.
Signed by President Marcos on May 8, RA No. 12199, or the “Early Childhood Care and Development System Act”, aims to safeguard and promote the right of every child to holistic well-being, growth, and dedicated care, recognizing the age-appropriate stages of development.
Under the new law, the government commits to creating nurturing environments for children that ensure a healthy and sustainable program for nutrition, age-appropriate development, and special protection with full recognition of the nature of childhood.
The government also supports parents and parent-substitutes in their roles as primary caregivers and as their children’s first teachers.
The State also recognizes the age from zero (0) to eight (8) years as the first crucial stage of educational development.
