MANILA, Philippines — Senator Loren Legarda is calling for the urgent passage of Senate Bill No. 1853, also known as the K to 3 Foundational Learning and Nurturing Care Act, arguing that strengthening early education is the most effective way to address the nation’s “learning crisis.”
Key Proposal Details:
- Critical Period: The bill focuses on children from birth through Grade 3, a stage Legarda describes as vital for developing cognitive skills, literacy, and numeracy.
- Prevention-First Strategy: The proposed law seeks to build a solid educational foundation early on, preventing the need for massive remedial lessons in higher grades.
- Holistic Curriculum: Instruction would integrate high-quality literacy and numeracy with socio-emotional learning and values formation to help children build resilience, empathy, and responsible decision-making skills.
- Economic Impact: Legarda warned that the learning crisis already impacts national productivity, employability, and social cohesion, making reform a matter of “justice and national interest.”
Senator’s Stance:
During her privilege speech on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, Legarda emphasized that students who fall behind in their early years rarely catch up, leading to lifelong disadvantages.
“We cannot allow another generation to be lost. Every year of delay means more children reach higher grades carrying gaps that could have been prevented,” Legarda stated.
Leadership Context:
As the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education and co-chair of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom II), Legarda has made foundational learning a centerpiece of her legislative agenda.