Build more day care centers, new barangay execs challenged

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines — Cotabato Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza has challenged the newly elected officials of the country’s more than 40,025 barangays to give the highest priority to establishing new public day care centers in their communities.

“Besides providing much-needed informal pre-schooling to toddlers from marginal families, public day care centers also allow underprivileged mothers more time to engage in productive economic activities,” said Taliño-Mendoza, who previously served as member of Congress for nine years.

The governor said mothers who are not gainfully employed would be encouraged to obtain extra training from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center, seek full or part-time work, or even pursue higher schooling.

“This is not just about ensuring early childhood care in poverty-stricken communities. This is also about freeing more mothers and harnessing them as potential labor force participants,” he said.

Taliño-Mendoza said the expansion of day care facilities would also enable the country to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of putting every Filipino child in elementary school by 2015.