SENATOR Mark Villar filed a measure that will establish daycare centers in all national government agencies, instrumentalities and government-owned and -controlled corporations for the employees’ children aged five years and below.

Under Senate Bill 1636 or the proposed Day Care Services Act, the center shall be available to all government employees regardless of the length and status of their employment.

The daycare center shall be handled by qualified and competent personnel with adequate training in Early Childhood Care and Development from the Department of Social Welfare and Development or its accredited organizations and institutions.

Villar said there are 47.58 million Filipinos that are employed in the government.

He added that the average weekly hours worked by an employed person was estimated at 39.6 hours per week.

“These figures show the struggle of Filipino working parents in allotting time to take care of their children,” the senator said in his explanatory note.

“This concern has an impact both to parents who may have difficulties in balancing their work from their responsibility in rearing their children, and to the young ones who in their early stage of development needs quality care from their parents,” he added.