Barangay Day Care Center Law of 1978

June 11, 1978

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1567

ESTABLISHING A DAY CARE CENTER IN EVERY BARANGAY AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

WHEREAS, there are three million Filipino children who are found to be suffering from malnutrition and lack of opportunities for their social development;

WHEREAS, pre-school children with ages ranging from 0-6 years are the most vulnerable to the ill-effects of malnutrition and lack of social and mental stimulation;

WHEREAS, the government has exerted relentless effort to combat malnutrition by organizing day care centers and supplemental feeding units to promote the social and mental development of pre-schoolers in support to the nationwide nutrition program;

WHEREAS, the number of day care centers and feeding centers found throughout the Philippines are inadequate;

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to expand this program in order to reach more needy children, protect their interests and prevent the loss of these human potentials;

WHEREAS, the expansion of this program can be achieved with the collective efforts of the public and private sector through the active involvement of non-governmental organizations;

WHEREAS, support for Day Care Centers may be drawn from the unexpended balance of local government or donations from private sector, as well as contribution from international organizations;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree the following:

SECTION 1.  Title and Scope of the Decree. — This Decree shall be known as the Barangay Day Care Center Law of 1978.

SECTION 2.  That in every barangay with at least one hundred (100) family heads residing therein, there shall be established a Day Care Center.

SECTION 3.  That said Day Care Center shall look after the nutritional needs and social and mental development of all children from ages 2 to 5 when their parents are unable to do so.

SECTION 4.  That said Day Care Center should be staffed with at least one (1) female day care nursery worker of good physical health who is competent to provide substitute parental care and to provide services for their social and mental development.

SECTION 5.  That said Barangay Day Care Centers shall be accredited by the Bureau of Family and Child Welfare of the DSSD.

SECTION 6.  That funds for the establishment and maintenance of depressed Barangay Day Care Centers may be appropriated from the unexpended balance of local and national government or from public donations.

SECTION 7.  This Decree shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 11th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Eight.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 75 No. 5 Page 829 on January 29, 1979.