The bill titled “Kindergarten Education Act” aims to institutionalize kindergarten education into the basic education system.

Seventeen senators approved House Bill No. 3826, taking into consideration the counterpart Senate Bill No. 2700 filed by Sen. Ralph Recto.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, who chairs the Senate Committee on Education, Arts, and Culture, sponsored the consolidated bills.

The Senate version prescribes a mother tongue-based multilingual education as a medium of instruction for pre-school children.

Those who signed Senate Committee Report No. 24 include Senators Angara, Recto, Franklin Drilon, Pia Cayetano, Manuel Villar Jr., Teofisto
“TG” Guingona III, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Sergio Osmeña III, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Antonio Trillanes IV, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, Joker Arroyo, Francis Pangilinan, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, and Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada.

In filing the bill, Recto said scientific studies and global trends point to multilingual-based education, using the mother tongue as becoming the standard teaching method for basic literacy all over the world.

In the Philippines, he said a local study reveals that the average Filipino is multilingual and can understand several local dialects, aside from English.

Cognizant of the priority given to kindergarten education, the measure earmarks proceeds from the value-added tax (VAT) collections amounting to (P20 billion) annually for the next three years after the approval of the bill. Then, the budgetary requirements of kindergarten education shall be charged to the general fund and included in the national budget.

“The passage of this measure will not only give full meaning to the Philippine commitment to the Education-for-All (EFA) global movement and its expanded vision of education, but also fulfill the vision of functionally literate Filipinos,” Recto stressed.

Hannah Torregoza, Manila Bulletin