FOUR-term Senator Loren Legarda has filed the K to 3 Foundational Learning and Nurturing Care Act, a landmark measure aimed at tackling the country’s persistent crisis in early education. The bill seeks to strengthen literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional learning during the critical years of Kindergarten to Grade 3, bridging the gap between early childhood care and the formal K–12 system.

Legarda underscored the urgency of the measure, citing Edcom II findings that nearly half of Filipino learners are unable to read at grade level by the end of Grade 3.

Global studies by UNICEF and the World Bank further reveal that 91 percent of Filipino children at late primary age cannot read and understand a simple story, placing the Philippines among the countries with the highest learning poverty rates in the world.

“What begins as a reading problem ultimately becomes a learning crisis,” Legarda stressed. “If we fail our children in the early years, we fail them for life. This is a crisis we cannot afford to ignore.”

The Senator noted that while the Philippines has an established Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) framework under Republic Act No. 12199, a critical “missing middle” remains unaddressed.

“Kindergarten to Grade 3 is a critical stage that determines whether a child will stay on track or fall into struggle,” Legarda said. “Without deliberate investment in these formative years, ECCD gains will be lost, and children will be left unprepared for the demands of higher education.”

Legarda explained that the proposed measure adopts a prevention-first strategy, ensuring that children build strong foundations early, reducing the need for costly remediation later. The bill calls for high-quality, language-rich, and numeracy-rich instruction fully integrated with socio-emotional learning (SEL) and values formation, so that learners not only read and count but also learn to manage emotions, build positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and navigate challenges with empathy and resilience.

“Foundational learning is more than learning how to read and count,” Legarda clarified. “It is about nurturing and building the skills, habits, and values that shape a child for life. It is about raising citizens who can think critically, care deeply, and act with integrity and responsibility.”

She further emphasized the broader impact of the measure: “Education is the nation’s most powerful equalizer. If we fix learning in the early grades, we ease congestion in later years, resulting in fewer repeaters, fewer dropouts, and better use of every peso dedicated to education. When we give every Filipino child the tools to read, count, and care, we give them the power to dream, to achieve, and to contribute meaningfully to our country’s future.”

Legarda, who serves as the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical, and Vocational Education and Co-Chairperson of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom II), has made foundational learning a core pillar of her broader education reform agenda.