Early childhood care and education (ECCE) in the Philippines is not yet compulsory nor is it a part of the formal education system, despite plans to integrate it into the formal education structure and a prerequisite to Grade 1. This state of affairs in the provision and management of ECCE manifests itself through limited access, especially among the poor and socially disadvantaged population. In order to promote equitable access at this level of education, the government in 2000 promulgated the Early Childhood Care and Development Law. In the same vein, the day-care centres in every “barangay” (village) have been established in order to manage the development and protection of children at village level. Consistent with the above initiatives, the National Coordinating Council for the Welfare of Children has been established in order to coordinate the implementation of early childhood education programmes and ensure collaboration among various member institutions and organizations (UNESCO 2009a). 

The Government of the Philippines aims at universalizing early childhood care and education and standardizing pre-school and day care centres, with the objective to enhance equitable access to this level of education. Despite this policy initiative, access to ECCE and its overall development in the country is still less than expected. In 2009, the GER in ECCE was approximately 51% and the NER was 39%. The Department of Education (DepEd) is focusing its attention on 5 year-old learners in day care centres in 50% of the lowest performing schools in each region in order to expand the coverage of ECCE (UNESCO 2009a). According to the DepEd, implementation of the Universal Kindergarten Education Order of May 2011 is to ensure access to and quality of education for all 5-year old children and should start in the 2011/2012 school year (IBE 2011).

There is currently a lack of assessment and evaluation of ECCE providers. There is a general understanding that most national pre-schools and day care centres are mere child-minding centres with no education activities included in their respective programmes. As a result of the ECCD Act in 2000, the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) was given the additional mandate to function as the National Coordinating Council for ECCD. Additionally, the DepEd is now working on refining the programme frameworks and standards in collaboration with other member agencies of the CWC. These frameworks and standards will be applied to the curriculum, teacher and caregiver qualifications, physical environment and services (IBE 2006).  Furthermore, the government provides teacher training to workers in already existing day-care centres, and these centres are provided with the necessary instructional materials as well as food items under the Food-For-School Programme aimed at upgrading the quality of ECCE (UNESCO 2009a).  

The management of ECCE in the Philippines is under the responsibility of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), an agency responsible for overall policy and programme development. It also sets and promotes guidelines and standards in the sector, providing technical assistance to the local government units through the regional field offices, and monitoring and evaluation. With the enactment of the ECCD Act in 2000, day-care programmes as well as home-based ECCD programmes for the under-six age group, while still under the oversight of the DSWD. These programmes will now be accredited by the ECCD Coordinating Councils at the Provincial Level. The DSWD is usually considered a leading member of this inter-agency committee but the Head of the School Division and the Head of the Provincial Health Office are also members (UNESCO 2009a, IBE 2011).

As articulated in the Medium Term Philippines Development Plan (MTPDP) 2004-2010, the Government of the Philippines has prioritized strengthening ECCE as part of the Philippine formal education system, This will be achieved through institutionalizing ECCE as the first education ladder and making it a prerequisite to Grade 1. Also, ECCD programmes are being expanded to reach all 5 year-old children, with emphasis on children of poorest households and at least one ECCE center is being established in every Local Government Unit (barangay) (UNESCO 2009a).