t

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

3070

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by Representative MARLYN L. PRIMICIAS-AGABAS

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

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Malnutrition among school aged children is prevalent particularly those enrolled
in the public schools in the country. Most of these children go to school without having
any food as they leave their respective homes, thus the pangs of hunger during
classroom hours resulting to low absorption of lessons and later dropping out of school
This poses a threat to the long term effect of malnutrition in the population and economy
of the country in terms of eligibility and work qualifications in the future

Continuous effort by the government is being undertaken to address this global
call to address to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. Several programs were already
undertaken by the government such as the rice ration and school feeding programs
which have resulted to less dropouts and more number of students staying in school
until their completion of primary education. However, these programs though of noble
intention have faced several challenges particularly on the regularity of the
implementation. It is therefore aimed by this proposal to institutionalize the feeding
program for kindergarten and elementary pupils in order to address the children’s
hunger and keep them focused in school

With the foregoing, it is earnestly hoped that this proposal be approved the

— Wy. ia


ween

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 3070

Introduced by Representative MARLYN L. PRIMICIAS-AGABAS

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

Be it enacted by the Senate and 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

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ It is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote
the fights 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.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act:
(a) Fortified food refers to food with deliberately increased content of essential

micronutrient, i.e. vitamins and minerals (including trace elements) irrespective of
whether or not the nutrients were originally in the food before processing, so as to


28
29
30

31

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) or
Listahanan refers to an information management system that identifies who and where
the poor are in the country and serves as a reference in identifying potential
beneficiaries of social protection program; and

(e) 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.

SEC. 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;

b) Achieve improved survival rates attendance in public kindergarten and
elementary schools:

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

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

e) Establish an efficient system for early identification, prevention, referral,

and intervention of developmental disorders and disabilities in early
childhood.

SEC. 5. 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


20

Education (DepED) particularly for children studying in public kindergarten and
elementary schools nationwide

SEC. 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;

b)

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall
help enlist the support of 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;

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

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,

d

and vitamin supplements;
) 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;
The National Dairy Authority (NDA) shall support the DepED in the
procurement of fresh milk-based food products and in coordinating with


concerned stakeholders shall execute a Memorandum of Agreement specifying the

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

necessary arrangements relative to the operation of the NSFP.

SEC. 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)

2

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 program
activity per school day.

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;
Conduct orientation meetings with parents and pupils utilizing the DepEd
feeding coordinators for proper information dissemination on the NSFP's
objectives and mechanisms and in the process generate stakeholders’
support for the program;


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. Classrooms 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;

e) Make available the necessary food supplies such as

1) Fresh milk-based and fortified foods; and

2) 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:

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.

SEC. 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

SEC. 9. Priority LGUs. — |n 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

SEC. 10. Participation of LGUs. - The Secretary of Education shall initiate
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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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

SEC. 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

SEC. 16. Separability Clause. — \f any provision of this Act is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the other provisions not so declared shall remain in force and effect.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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,