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The National Vision Screening Program is now institutionalized with the passage of Republic Act 11358, otherwise known as The National Vision Screening Act of 2019. The law was approved by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on July 31, 2019.
This law mandates the Department of Education (DepED) in collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Eye Research Institute (PERI) to implement a national vision screening program to assess vision among kindergarten pupils across the country.
It provides for the mandatory screening of kindergarten pupils using a DOH and PERI recommended Vision Screening Kit so that children with visual problems are given the necessary intervention to prevent avoidable blindness as they age.
According to Dr. Cubillan, the kindergarten age group (5 years old) is the best age to test for visual problems because the eye is not yet fully developed at that age and vision problems like amblyopia can still be corrected.