Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon City
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. _ 2627

Introduced by Hon, Sol Aragones

EXPLANATORY NOTE

According to the 6" National Nutrition Survey by the Food and Nutrition Research
Institute (FNRD, 26.7% of children 6 to 10 years old are underweight, while 15.5% of
preadolescents and adolescents 11 to 19 years old are underweight. Undernutrition or poor

nutrition is the likely cause why children of this age range are underweight.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) states that malnut

ition among Filipino
children is a very critical area of intervention, Over a half a million school-aged children in
the country are severely malnourished. This malnutrition makes Filipino children the third
poorest and most disadvantaged sector in the country, next only to fishermen and farmers.
According to the Department of Education (DepEd), 562,262 students in kindergarten and

elementary public schools are considered “severely wasted.” Poverty is the main cause of this

grim picture."

Health experts all agree that there is a direct correlation between adequate nutrition
among children and their behaviour and ability to learn in school. Children who come to
school hungry cannot focus on their lessons. Malnourished children are more difficult to

teach and have lower test scores,

" hup:/éwww.manetwork.com/news/story/296884 /news/specialreports/more-than-half-million-pinoy-kids-

28 AUG 2013
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The role of good nutrition to keep chi
study of 50 malnourished children aged 2 to 9 in New York City, it was found that their 1Q’s
rose by an average of 18 points after improvements were made on their nutrition level over a

iren in school cannot be overemphasized. In a

period of one to three years.”

The DepEd is at the forefront in the fight against malnutrition in school-age children
and improve their school performance. As early as 1997, it launched a Breakfast Feeding
Program (BEP) to address the “short-term-hunger syndrome” among public elementary
school children. Short term hunger is a condition experienced by children who do not eat
breakfast and/or walk long distances to reach school, resulting to non-attendance or non-
attentiveness in class. In recent years, the DepEd has expanded the BFP to a school-based
feeding program that is not limited to serving breakfasts to children. Vegetable gardens have

also been established in schools as a source of healthy ingredients for the children’s meals.

School-based feeding programs have been found to improve the academic
performance of school children. Parents from the poorest families are also encouraged to send

and keep their children in school.

However, due to lack of funding, the DepEd can only feed 42,372 school children, or
7.54% of the children suffering from severe malnutrition, in 1,010 public elementary schools

in 28 provinces.

kindergarten, elementary, and secondary schools in the country to combat malnutrition

bill seeks to make a national feeding program mandatory in all public
among children and adolescents, improve school attendance, and provide an environment

conducive to learning for public school students.

(ON. SOL ;ONES
Representative, 3 District of Laguna

2-<The National School Lunch Program,” Gordon W. Gunderson.
http://www. fs.usda gov/end/Lunch/A boutLunch/NSLP-1 1% 20History. pdf

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon Cily

‘SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2627

House Bill No, _~

Introduced by Hon, Sol Aragones

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT, MAINTENANCE, AND OPERATION
OF A NATIONAL FEEDING PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN IN PUBLIC
KINDERGARTEN, ELEMENTARY, AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS
THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY

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

ION 1. Short Title. — ‘This Act shall be known as the “National School Nutrition
Act.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. ~The State recognizes the vital role of the youth
in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual,

and social well-being.

It is a policy of the State to give priority to education to foster patriotism and
nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total human liberation and development.
Accordingly, the State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education

at all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.

In recognition of the demonstrated relationship between food and good nutrition and
the capacity of children to develop and learn, the Government shall address the problem of

malnutrition and undernutrition among children and enhance the learning process by



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establishing a national feeding program for school children in public kindergarten,

elementary, and secondary schools throughout the country.

SECTION 3. National Feeding Program. ~ A national feeding program shall be

mandatory in all public kindergarten, elementary, and secondary schools. This national

feeding program shall be administered by the Secretary of Education.

The national feeding program shall be comprised of school breakfasts made available

free of charge to school children, Within three (3) years from the effectivity of this Act,

school lunches made available free of charge to school children who attend more than five (5)

hours of classes daily shall be made part of the national feeding program.

‘The school breakfasts and lunches must meet the applicable guidelines of the Food
and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) for the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for
protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and calories for school children. Decisions
about what specific food to serve and how they are prepared shall be made by the school

authorities, based on rules and regulations to be issued by the Secretary of Education.

SECTION 4. Technical Training and Assistance on Food Preparation, Safety, and
Sanitation. ~ The Secretary of Eduei

n, in consultation with the Secretary of Health, the
FNRI, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and other
appropriate government agencies, shall develop a program to provide the food service
personnel of public kindergarten, elementary, and secondary schools with technical training

and assistance in the preparation of healthy and nutritious meals, food safety, and sanitation.

SECTION 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations, -Within sixty (60) days from the

effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with appropriate
government agencies, shall promulgate the rules and regulations to implement the provisions

of this Act.

Such rules and regulations shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication

in a newspaper of general circulation.

SECTION 6. Appropriations. — To carry out the provisions of this Act, such amounts

necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury. Thereafter,


such amounts necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be included in the annual

appropriation of the Department of Education.

SECTION 7. Separability Clause, ~ If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or

unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain

valid and subsisting.

SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. ~ Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive

order, letter of instructi istrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent

n, admit

with, the provi

ns of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly.

SECTION 9. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after it

publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,