The Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Law which was enacted in 2000, recognizes the importance of early childhood and its special needs, affirms parents as primary caregivers and the child's first teachers, and establishes parent effectiveness, seminars and nutrition counseling for pregnant and lactating mothers.
The Law requires the establishment of a National Coordinating Council for the Welfare of Children which: (a) establishes guidelines, standards, and culturally relevant practices for ECCD programs; (b) develops a national system for the recruitment, training, and accrediting of caregivers; (c) monitors the delivery of ECCD services and the impact on beneficiaries; (d) provides additional resources to poor and disadvantaged communities in order to increase the supply of ECCD programs; and (e) encourages the development of private sector initiatives.
The Republic Act 6972, the “Barangay (village) Level Total Protection of Children Act”, has a provision that requires all local government units to establish a day-care centre in every village; the law institutionalized the features of the day-care programme that provide for young children’s learning needs aside from their health and psychosocial needs.
Since the decentralization of basic health and social services in 1990, the local government unit is directly responsible for the management and operation of day-care centres.