By Angel P. Cruzada

Members from the LCF Education Committee gathered on Thursday, May 29, for the Brown Bag session and committee meeting

PASIG CITY, Philippines – On May 29 at Rockwell Business Center Ortigas, the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF) Education Committee held its Quarter 2 session, making Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) in education the central focus. The blended meeting, hosted by Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc., brought together experts to discuss how to best support basic education teachers and Child Development Teachers/Workers (CDT/W).

The session featured two key speakers: Director Margarita Consolacion Ballesteros from the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), which is under the Department of Education (DepEd), and CDT/W Federation President Perla Reyes.

Dir. Margarita Consolacion Ballesteros, Director IV of OUHROD-NEAP (Department of Education)

Understanding DEI in the Classroom

Director Ballesteros began by breaking down the core ideas of DEI:

Diversity: This means having students from all sorts of backgrounds in one classroom. This includes differences in race, ethnicity, financial status, language, religion, gender identity, and culture.

Equity: It’s about giving everyone fair access and opportunities, making sure each student gets what they need to succeed, rather than just treating everyone the same way.
Inclusivity: This is about creating a school environment where every student feels accepted, valued, and respected. It ensures everyone can comfortably and fully take a part in learning, no matter their abilities or background.

Ballesteros highlighted that applying DEI principles in the Philippines is complex. The country's unique geography, with thousands of islands, diverse languages, and many cultures, along with students who have varying learning needs, presents significant challenges.

These challenges include language barriers, financial inequality, limited resources in remote areas, cultural biases in teaching materials, not enough training for teachers in DEI practices, scarce learning materials, and insufficient funding. Despite these hurdles, DepEd is actively working to promote inclusive learning through initiatives like its K-12 curriculum. Director Ballesteros ended her talk by asking for the committee's continued support, stating, "There are huge challenges ahead. But we will succeed because you are with us."

Perla Reyes, President of the Federation of Child Development Workers/Teachers

Strengthening Early Childhood Development

The session continued with President Perla Reyes, who shared her three decades of experience as a CDT/W. She spoke about both the long-standing difficulties faced by child development workers and the recent progress achieved in the sector.

Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) programs are crucial for a child's overall growth—physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally—and lay the groundwork for their future learning. CDT/Ws are vital to these programs and consistently seek out training to improve their skills. However, these professionals have historically struggled with insufficient funding for ECCD and consistently low wages.

Reyes shared exciting news: The ECCD System Act was officially signed into law on May 8, 2025. This new law, Republic Act No. 12199, aims to boost early childhood education, nutrition, and care for children. A key focus of the Act is to professionalize Child Development workers and teachers, fostering partnerships with CHED and TESDA for training and scholarship programs. Crucially, it also addresses the low salaries of many CDT/Ws, many of whom are in non-permanent positions and earn an average of only ₱5,000 per month.

Representatives from various organizations attended the LCF Education Committee meeting, including Scheduler Electric, East-West Seed, JVR Foundation, JFV Foundation, Ayala Foundation, Gokongwei Brothers Foundation, Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc., CFI, SBTI, Aboitiz Foundation, SM Foundation, Metro Bank Foundation, Inc., and UFI.

The Knowledge Channel Foundation, Inc. (KCFI) is a proud member of LCF.

LCF Education Committee Prioritizes DEI in Philippine Education

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