Stakeholders in education on Monday urged the government to prioritize investments in early childhood education to help solve the gap in education across the country ahead of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s speech. The Fifth State of the World (SONA).
“The solution to Philippine education, unfortunately, must start in childhood,” President of PHINMA Education Holdings, Inc. and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chito B. Salazar told reporters in a press conference.
“What I would like the government to do is bite the bullet and say that this decision is not made for policy reasons but because of the evidence,” he added.
Obesity is among the major public health problems in early childhood development in the Philippines. The findings of the DOST-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) report showed that the rate of malnutrition between 0 to 59 months in the country reached 25.3% in 2025, from 23.6% in 2023.
The rate of disability is higher in rural areas than in urban areas at 27.8% and 23.2% respectively. The highest prevalence of stunting was recorded in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) at 36.0%, followed by Zamboanga Peninsula at 34.6%, Negros Island Region at 30.9%, and MIMAROPA at 30.3%.
Besides its physical health consequences for children, childhood malnutrition is also associated with lower levels of literacy, numeracy, and overall academic achievement.
According to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), struggling significantly impairs cognitive development, language acquisition, and reading readiness.
“Investment should focus on consistent early childhood support so that more of our children are properly nourished,” Mr Salazar said. “If they are well-nourished and learning in first grade or kindergarten, most of the problems will resolve themselves.”
Apart from the development of young children, PHINMA Education also urged the government to expand voucher programs in private schools to open up better opportunities for poor students.
“Another idea that we have been pushing is the idea of matching and making more use of vouchers,” PHINMA Education Chairman Ramon R. del Rosario Jr. he told reporters at a press conference.
With the widespread use of vouchers, Mr. Del Rosario said children will be able to enroll in private schools instead of facing limited choices in government-run schools.
“We have seen that there are high-quality schools run by private companies located in places where children study, despite the fact that learning is often very high,” he said.
“If you include the idea of vouchers for children who may choose to go to private schools over public schools, I think that will go a long way in improving the quality of education that people receive,” he added.
PHINMA Education is the educational unit of the organization led by Del Rosario of PHINMA Corp. It had 177,851 students in the 2025-2026 School Year, of which 174,279 were from the Philippines and 3,572 from Indonesia. – Almira Louise S. Martinez
