‘HOUSE GF REPRESENTATIVES

RECEIVED
26 JUL 2016
DATE:

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Time:

BY:
SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session REGISTRATION UNIT
1970 BILLS AND INDFX SERVICE

House Bill No.

Introduced by Representatives
Estrellita B. Suansing and Horacio P. Suansing, Jr.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that hunger and malnutrition are
the world’s greatest threat to public health. The same could be said in the
Philippines.

‘The following statistics show the status of hunger and malnutrition in the
country:

* The United Nations (UN) estimates that 6 million Filipino children are
malnourished!, with 66% under the age of 6 do not receive childcare;

* More than 32% of children under 5 suffer from moderate to severe stunting
due to malnutrition?;

* The Second Quarter 2014 Social Weather Survey, fielded over June 27-30,
2014, found 16.3% or an estimated 3.6 million families experiencing
involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months?;

* Malnutrition has long been a serious concern in Mindanao, where a
significant number of children are already undernourished*;

* The banner story of a well-known news publication stated that poverty pushes
more than half of elementary pupils to severe malnutrition. “The Department
of Education disclosed that 562,262 pupils in kindergarten and elementary
levels enrolled in public schools this year have been considered “severely
wasted” based on nutritional status as of August 31, 2012.5

Hunger and nutrition must be addressed, specially amongst children. It must
be addressed now.

It is a premium rationale for this bill that the government must now
institutionalize a National School Feeding Program for public kindergarten and
elementary pupils to ensure that children, throughout their early childhood years
receive adequate nutrition; improve survival rates attendance in schools; enhance
the physical, social, cognitive, psychological, and language development in young

The Philippine Star, (http://www. philstar.com/headlines/2012/10/11/858285/6-million-pinoy-children-
malnourished-un-report), 11 October 2012
* UNICEF Annual Report 2013 - Philippines
® second Quarter 2014 SWS, 01 August 2014
A UNICEF (http://www-unicet.org/philippines/media_18129.htmls.DNp2fmSw_k)
www.inquirer.net, 25 December 2012


children; mitigate malnourishment; and establish an efficient system of early
identification, prevention, referral and intervention of developmental disorders and
disabilities in early childhood.

It is the full intent of this legislation to seek the full participation of all
relevant government agencies, including the local government units (LGUs) and the
parents through the Parent-Teacher Associations, so that it can be meaningfully
implemented. Our children, and our children’s children, must be spared from the
bondage of poverty so that they can have true opportunities in the future.

‘This bill is a re-file of House Bill No. 5618, filed during the 16% Congress and
approved on Third Reading on May 19, 2015.

In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

ESTRELI B. SU:

1 District, Nueva Ecija

HORACIO: SUANSING, JR.
2n4 District, Sultan Kudarat


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

1970

House Bill No,

Introduced by Representatives
Estrellita B. Suansing and Horacio P. Suansing, Jr.

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE NATIONAL SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAM FOR
PUBLIC KINDERGARTEN AND ELEMENTARY PUPILS AND APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “National School
Feeding Program (NSFP) Act.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the
State to promote the rights of children to survival, development, and special
protection with full recognition on the nature of childhood and its special needs.

Recognizing the direct correlation between good nutrition and the propensity
of children to develop into physically and mentally healthy individuals, the State
Shall endeavor to promote and fortify proper nutrition among school children,
especially those belonging to low-income households, in order to safeguard them
from the ill effects of malnutrition and to enhance as well their learning capacities.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. ~ As used in this Act:

a. Fortified food refers to food with deliberately increased content of
essential micronutrient, ie. vitamins and minerals (including trace
clements) irrespective of whether or not the nutrients were originally in
the food before processing, so as to improve the nutritional quality of
the food supply and to provide a public health benefit with minimal
risk to health;

b. Fresh milk refers to pasteurized fresh milk with limited shelf life,
usually seven (7) to ten (10) days, and requiring refrigeration;

c. Fresh milk-based food refers to food product containing fresh milk
blended with powdered milk;

d. National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) ot
Listahanan refers to an information management system that identifies


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who and where the poor are in the country and serves as a reference in
identifying potential beneficiaries of social protection program; and

Powdered milk refers to a manufactured dairy product made by
evaporating milk into powder form purposely to preserve it and to have
a far longer shelf life than liquid milk due to its low moisture content.

SECTION 4. Objectives. - The National School Feeding Program (NSFP) shall
pursue the following objectives:

a.

Ensure that adequate health and nutrition programs are accessible to
school children throughout their early childhood years;

Achieve improved survival rates attendance in public kindergarten and
elementary schools;

Enhance the physical, social, cognitive, psychological, and language
development of young children;

Mitigate malnourishment among school children, thus ensuring that
they will be adequately prepared for the formal learning system; and

Establish an efficient system for carly identification, prevention,
referral, and intervention of developmental disorders and disabilities in
early childhood.

SECTION 8. Establishment of the NSFP. ~ The NSFP is hereby established as.
an alternative approach of providing free supplementary meals, including fresh milk-
based food products, through a program menu that shall be designed by the
Department of Education (DepED) particularly for children studying in public
kindergarten and elementary schools nationwide.

SECTION 6. Implementation and Interagency Coordination. - The DepED is
hereby authorized to lead in the administration and implementation of the NSFP.

In coordination with the DepED, the following national government agencies
shall be tasked to make available such resources as may be necessary to ensure the
successful implementation of the NSFP:

a.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Food Authority
(NFA) shall tap farmers associations and cooperatives in the locality for
possible sources of food supplies and shall share with the DepED any
available resources and facilities that may be used for the NSFP;

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall help
enlist the support of the local government units (LGUs) as DepED
partners in the operation of the NSFP, including the possibility of
utilizing the services of barangay nutrition scholars and barangay
health workers.


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c. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shall
support the DepED by ensuring the availability of date on poor
households based on the NHTS-PR or Listahanan;

d. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI, the DA, the Department of
Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall help
the DepED look for cost-effective sources of foodstuff, vaccines, and
vitamin supplements;

e. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) shall
support the DepED in the determination of official development
assistance sources to expand the inputs needed in the NSFP;

f. The National Dairy Authority (NDA) shall support the DepED in the
procurement of fresh milk-based food products and in coordinating
with local cooperatives and dairy corporations for the availability of
milk supplies needed; and

g. The National Nutrition Council (NNC), in coordination with the Food
and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), shall provide the menu
consisting of a combination of foods that meet the recommended
energy and nutrient intake of children.

The DepED, the participating national government agencies, and other
concerned stakeholders shall execute a Memorandum of Agreement specifying the
necessary arrangements relative to the operation of the NSFP.

SECTION 7. Mechanics of the NSFP. - In addition to its interdepartmental
coordinative and consultative tasks during the operation of the NSFP, the DepED
shall oversee the following activities:

a. Administer the NSFP, in coordination with concerned government
institutions, for a minimum of one hundred twenty (120) feeding days
per school year to be done five (5) days a week with one (1) feeding
activity per school day;

b. Conduct orientation-training activities utilizing its core of trainors to all
DepED health and nutrition unit personnel at the regional and division
levels so as to generate their support to the NSFP’s objectives and
mechanics. DepED personnel trained at the schools division level shall
be responsible for training the staff at the district and municipal levels
while those trained at the district and municipal levels shall be
responsible for training the implementers and feeding coordinators at
the school level;

c. Conduct orientation meetings with parents and pupils utilizing the
DepED feeding coordinators for proper information dissemination on
the NSFP’s objectives and mechanics and in the process generate
stakeholders’ support for the program;


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d. Conduct simultaneous health examinations, including deworming and
vaccination activities, to participating pupils during the orientation
meeting set for parents and pupils. The school’s medical staff or the
medical staff of a public health center in the community shall take
charge and provide proper treatment or referral to a hospital for pupils
who are found to have defects or ailments. Classroom advisers, who are
required to undergo proper training to be conducted by the barangay
nutrition scholars and barangay health workers, shall note their
observations regarding the pupil’s health condition, including the
measurement of the pupil’s height and weight before the start of the
feeding program and every month thereafter for the entire duration of
the feeding program;

. Make available the necessary food supplies such as:
i.Fresh milk-based and fortified foods; and

ii.Vitamin supplements in such dosages and for such duration as
the DOH may determine most beneficial to the child’s health and
nutritional well-being; and

f. Ensure that the beneficiary school children eat their meals and drink
their milk inside the classroom only, and shall thus be prohibited from
taking their ration home.

SECTION 8. Procurement, Storage and Handling System. - The procurement,
storage and handling of appropriate food supplies shall be spearheaded by the
DepED, in coordination with the NNC, the FNRI and other concerned government
agencies. The DepED shall seek the help of the DA in tapping the services of local
farmers associations and cooperatives for the procurement of locally produced food
supplies and shall encourage contracts with farmers associations and cooperatives
in accordance with existing procurement laws.

In the procurement program, priority shall be given to the utilization of locally
produced fresh milk and locally available food supplies, utilizing as well the products
of the Gulayan sa Paaralan Project (GPP) of the DepED and the products of
community gardens as part of convergence efforts to increase food supplies at the
local level.

The DepED shall issue the guidelines necessary for the effective
implementation of the procurement, storage and handling system.

SECTION 9. Priority LGUs. - In case of shortage of funds, priority in the
implementation of the NSFP shall be given to municipalities and cities which are
determined and identified by the NNC or by any competent government agency to
have high malnutrition rates.

SECTION 10. Participation of LGUs. - The Secretary of Education shall
iate partnerships with LGU officials to encourage them to contribute available
resources to the feeding program in public schools within the LGUs’ respective area
of jurisdiction.



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SECTION 11. Participation of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs). - the
DepED shall promote the involvement of parents through the PTAs in the planning,
implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the school feeding program.

SECTION 12. Monitoring and Evaluation System. — The DepED shall
establish a monitoring and evaluation system for the nationwide implementation of
the NSFP, which shall incorporate periodic reports from the schools division and
regional offices. The report shall provide, among others, the needed information that
may determine whether or not the program has achieved its objectives, including the
identification of issues and constraints as well as the corresponding appropriate
recommendations.

SECTION 13. Tax Exemption. - Any donation or bequest made to the DepED
for the NSFP shall be exempt from donor's tax and the same shall be considered as
allowable deduction from the gross income of the donor, in accordance with the
provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended: Provided,
‘That the donation is duly approved by the Secretary of Education upon the
recommendation of the Executive Director of the NNC, in case of food products, and
the Secretary of Health, in case of vaccine and vitamin products.

SECTION 14. Appropriations. - The amount necessary to cover the initial
implementation of this Act shall be charged against the appropriation of the DepED
for school-based feeding program under the current General Appropriations Act.
Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the continued implementation of this
Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 15. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days
from the approval of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the
heads of other participating government agencies, shall formulate the rules and
regulations implementing the provisions of this Act. The implementing rules and
regulations issued pursuant to this Section shall take effect thirty (30) days after its
publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

SECTION 16. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is held
invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not so declared shall remain in full
force and effect.

SECTION 17. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders and rules and
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed or amended accordingly.

SECTION 18. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,