Beloved People of God,
Greetings of Peace and Hope!
At the 130th Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in Anda, Bohol, we reflected together on the serious challenges facing our people and nation. Among the most urgent of these is the crisis in the education of our children. A crisis rooted in severe stunting and malnutrition, low participation in child care and development, and the high number of children who are functionally illiterate.
The education crisis among children
According to the report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), the Philippines has one of the highest rates of stunting in children under five years old in the world at 26.7%—higher than the global average of 22.3%—and has shown little improvement since 2000. This stunting, primarily rooted in undernutrition during pregnancy, lack of nutritious food in the first 1,000 days of life, and persistent child illnesses, has devastating, long-lasting effects on cognitive development and on the learning capacity of our children. It is also a stark manifestation of inequity, where only a mere 25% of Filipino children aged 6-12 months meet the recommended energy intake, with many deficient in protein and healthy fats essential for their physical growth and development.(1)
Additionally, the participation of parents and communities in the education of children aged 0 to 4 is extremely low—only 21% for ages 3-4, and even lower for ages 0 to 2. Many parents and caregivers do not engage in early stimulation activities; only half of children are regularly read to with stories and have their holistic well-being taken into account. Even concerning, 5,800 barangays nationwide still lack child development centers, despite the law mandating this since 1990. Most of these barangays are in the poorest communities.
The consequences are alarming: 48% of Grade 1 to 3 students are not prepared for their grade level, 80% of Grade 3 students struggle with multiplication, division, and geometry, and 30% are not functionally literate.
“Children are a heritage from the Lord…” – Psalm 127:3
We have a moral obligation to care for children who are God’s heritage (Psalm 127:3). They are the future of our nation. We must recognize this as a crisis that demands urgent and serious action. To delay, ignore, or fail to respond to the basic needs of our children is to delay the progress of our nation’s future. More than infrastructure or arms, we must prioritize our youth and their education.
Proposed actions
Therefore, we join EDCOM II in calling upon all government agencies, legislators, and local governments to take immediate action:
- Prioritize and fully fund programs that improve the nutrition of pregnant women and children aged 0–4, especially by ensuring equitable access to nutritious food for poor and marginalized families.
- Intentionally expand access to early childhood education, ensuring that every
child, regardless of economic status, has guaranteed opportunity for early stimulation (ages 0–2) and early education (ages 3–4). - Immediately invest in establishing child development centers and early learning opportunities in every barangay, prioritizing municipalities with low-income communities.
We also urgently call on our Catholic institutions and organizations to:
- Launch comprehensive awareness campaigns about stunting, refocusing parish feeding programs on the earliest years of childhood to ensure that the assistance addresses the complete nutritional needs of our children, with adequate macronutrients (6-15% protein, 25-35% fat, and 50-69% carbohydrates for children 1-2 years of age(3)
- Establish early education programs for children aged 3-4 in parochial schools where no community daycare/child development center exists, providing an alternative means of service.
- Actively share vital information on ECCD (Early Childhood Care and Development) with parents through family-centered programs.
- Form active partnerships with local governments and community leaders to act together, especially in areas with the highest stunting rates(4).
The children of our nation depend on us to fix the foundations of our struggling educational system. They deserve a brighter future—and only through our immediate commitment and actions can this be realized. Jeremiah 29:11 states: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope”. Let us give our children the hope and the future they truly deserve.
We entrust this journey, as the Filipino people, along with our sorrows and hopes, into the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope, so that she may accompany and guide us in following the Way of Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
+PABLO VIRGILIO S. CARDINAL DAVID, DD
Bishop of Kalookan
CBCP President