LAWMAKER REVIEWS SENATE’S P205-M PROPOSAL FOR FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF VISION SCREENING ACT
/ 13 December 2025
SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian said he is closely reviewing the Senate’s proposal to allocate P205 million for the full implementation of the Vision Screening Act of 2019 under the proposed 2026 national budget, noting that the item was not included in the House-approved General Appropriations Bill.
Speaking about the education budget, Gatchalian said the Senate introduced the allocation to finally operationalize the law, which mandates early vision screening for students across the country.
“This is a Senate proposal. It’s not in the GAB, so this is immediately a disagreeing provision,” he explained.
“For the past few days, I’ve been studying why the Senate added this, how many students will benefit, and when implementation will start,” Gatchalian said.
The senator emphasized that despite being enacted in 2019, the Vision Screening Act has yet to receive funding, raising questions about delays in implementation.
He said both he and his staff are reviewing the justifications and expected impact of the proposed allocation as the Senate prepares for bicameral budget discussions.
“This is a law, actually. So I’m looking at when it was enacted and why it has not been funded since 2019. This is one of the items we’re studying,” Gatchalian said.
The Vision Screening Act aims to detect early eyesight problems among young learners to prevent long-term visual impairment and support better learning outcomes.
