1 
Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 10872
Introduced by Representative Wilbert “Manoy” T. Lee 
AN ACT  
REDUCING WASTAGE BY DONATING AND RECYCLING EXCESS EDIBLE 
FOOD 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Article XV, Section 3 (2) of the 1987 Constitution states that “[t]he State shall defend 
the right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition.” In the same vein, 
Article II, Section 9 of the same provides that “[t]he State shall promote a just and dynamic 
social order that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free the people 
from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full 
employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.” 
A study found that 39% of Filipino families waste rice, 11% waste vegetables, and 
8% waste meat, with the DOST reporting a staggering 930 million tons of food waste in 
2019.1 In 2023, the Philippines is ranked 69th out of 119 countries on the Global Hunger 
Index, signifying a significant hunger crisis, while food waste also contributes to greenhouse 
gas emissions that intensify global warming.  
In the 2024 Waste Index Report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP),2 
households in the Philippines discarded about 2.95 million tons of food, which translates to 
26 kilograms (kg) per individual. This index evaluates the quantity of food and its non-edible 
parts that are wasted in households, retail, and food service sectors. On a global scale, the 
household sector is responsible for 60% of total food waste, amounting to 631 million tons, 
1 Soriano, MJ. (2023, March 17). DOST: Rice, veggies and meat top waste list; urges public-private action. 
Inquirer.net. Accessed on September 2, 2024, from https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1744485/dost-researchers-urge-
filipinos-to-address-food-waste-problem. 
2 Cruz, Beatriz Marie D. (2024, March 27). PHL household food waste falls sharply to nearly 3 million tonnes a 
year 
— 
UNEP. 
BusinessWorld. 
Accessed 
on 
September 
2, 
2024, 
from 
https://www.bworldonline.com/economy/2024/03/27/584555/phl-household-food-waste-falls-sharply-to-nearly-
3-million-tonnes-a-year-unep/.
September 9, 2024
8:00 am


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with food service contributing 28% (290 million tons) and retail making up 12% (131 million 
tons). 
In July 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported food inflation for the lowest 
30% of income households surged to 8.7%, up from 8.4% in June, driven by a significant rise 
in the index for meat and other slaughtered land animals, which climbed to 4.7% from 3.0%. 
This rise in food costs reveals a troubling inconsistency: as food prices soar, a staggering 
amount of food is wasted throughout the country. This contradiction of food waste occurring 
alongside hunger emphasizes the critical need for robust policies and initiatives aimed at 
enhancing both food security and sustainable consumption practices in the Philippines. 
Thus, through this measure, this Representation aims to promote food security and 
eliminate hunger by facilitating the redistribution and recycling of edible food surplus, 
recognizing the human right to adequate nutrition. It requires food-related businesses to 
donate surplus food to accredited food banks and provides guidelines for the collection and 
distribution of this food to those in need. The Act also initiates a National Zero-Food Waste 
Campaign to educate the public, especially youth, on reducing food surplus and emphasizing 
food recovery strategies.  
Additionally, it includes provisions for training sanitary inspectors to ensure the 
proper handling and classification of food surplus while providing liability protection for 
food donors. Strict prohibitions against the resale of donated food surplus are enforced, with 
significant penalties for violations that increase with repeated offenses. Finally, the Act 
mandates the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to oversee enforcement and develop 
implementing rules within sixty days of its enactment. 
In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
     HON. WILBERT “MANOY” T. LEE 
  Representative 
AGRI PARTYLIST 


1 
Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Third Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 10872 
Introduced by Representative Wilbert “Manoy” T. Lee 
AN ACT  
REDUCING WASTAGE BY DONATING AND RECYCLING EXCESS EDIBLE 
FOOD 
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 “Food Surplus Reduction 
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Act.” 
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Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy.  The State recognition that each person has a right to an 
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adequate standard of living, including sufficient, safe, quality and nutritious food. It is hereby 
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declared a policy of the State to attain food security, end hunger, and promote the efficient 
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use of the country’s food resources. The considerable number of people going hungry daily is 
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a breach of a human right that this Act intends to address and correct and the massive amount 
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of food surplus presents an opportunity for the State to address hunger and its efforts on 
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quality of life of the underprivileged. 
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Toward this end, the State shall adopt a system to promote, facilitate and ensure the 
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reduction of food surplus through redistribution and recycling. The State shall likewise 
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implement measures to make it mandatory to donate edible food surplus for charitable 
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purposes.  
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Sec. 3.  Definition of Terms.  – As used in this Act: 
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a) Edible food surplus - refers to excess food or surplus food in the retail and 
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consumption stages, determined to be fit for human consumption based on the 
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applicable standards of food quality and safety; 
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b) Food banks - refer to non-profit, charitable or other social mission-oriented 
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organization that collect donations of edible food items and distribute them to the 
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food insecure; 
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c) Food insecure - refers to the decrease of food surplus through the redistribution of 
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food surplus to the food insecure or the recycling of food as fertilized or compost; 
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d) Food-related business - refers to public and private businesses involved in the 
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manufacturing and processing of food products, private businesses involved in the 
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wholesaling and retailing of food products, private businesses involved in serving 
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food products, and private institutions offering courses in the art and science of 
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preparation, cooking and presentation of food; and  
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e) Inedible food surplus - refers to food discarded in the retail and consumption 
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stages, determined to be unfit for human consumption, including, pre-packaged 
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food products that have gone beyond their declared expiry dates.  
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Sec. 4. Covered Establishments. – The establishments covered by this Act are as 
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follow: 
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a) Food manufacturers, notwithstanding any restriction imposed by any existing law 
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and regulation on food manufacturers: Provided, That any donation made by such 
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manufacturers under the provisions of this Act shall constitute an exception to the 
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applicability of restrictions under existing laws and regulations as long as the 
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product to be donated has no safety and quality issue, no untruthful information or 
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health claims or any information that can mislead the consumers; 
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b) Food establishment (restaurants, cafes, diners, fast food chains or hotels); 
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c) Supermarkets with at least five hundred (500) square meters of selling space; and  
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d) Culinary schools with offer culinary, baking and pastry courses with at least fifty 
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(50) students. 
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Sec. 5. Determination of Food Insecure. – The criteria for the determination of a 
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food insecure person or group, will be made by the Department of Social Welfare and 
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Development (DSWD), in coordination with local government units (LGUs). 
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Sec. 6. National Zero-Food Waste Campaign. – The National Nutrition Council 
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(NNC), in close cooperation with the DSWD, Department of Interior and Local Government 
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(DILG), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of 
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Education (DepEd), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Health (DOH), 
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Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Agriculture (DA), and other 
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concerned agencies and LGUs, shall undertake a National Zero-Food Waste Campaign to 
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raise awareness on the impact of food surplus and strategies to decrease wasted food starting 
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at the household level. The campaign shall also promote the food surplus reduction hierarchy 
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and recommend means of reducing individual food waste. 
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To educate the younger generation, the DepEd shall have the duty to ensure that the 
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prescribed curriculum includes information materials on the following: 
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a) Current global and national food waste situations; 
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b) Ways to minimize food surplus; 
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c) National and local food surplus prevention programs; 
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d) Food recovery; and  
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e) Pertinent provisions of this Act. 
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Sec. 7. Edible Fund Surplus Distribution Steps. – The following steps shall be 
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followed in edible food surplus distribution: 
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a) The owner of the covered establishments will segregate their edible and inedible food 
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surplus; 
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b) To facilitate distribution, food manufacturers may opt to perform the segregation of 
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their products at the supermarkets that sell their products, bearing in mind the 
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exclusion of all physically damaged food container such as tainted or tarnished label 
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which may render it unreadable, dented, smashed, rusted, swollen, corroded food 
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container or any similar condition which may render the food unsafe. For consumer 
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protection and consistency with the existing policy, any processed food for donation 
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shall at least 12 months remaining shelf-life; 
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c) Before a donation is made, a duly trained sanitary inspector of the LGU or accredited 
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food and safety officer will check if the edible food surplus is fit for human 
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consumption 
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d) Upon determination that the edible food surplus conforms to the standard and policy, 
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it will be donated to accredited food banks, as determined by the DSWD; and 
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e) Food banks, in coordination with the DSWD and LGUs will distribute the edible food 
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surplus to the food insecure.  
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SEC. 8. Food-related Business Surplus Reduction Strategy. – The owners of food-
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related businesses such as food manufacturers, supermarkets, restaurants, cafeterias, culinary 
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schools and hotels shall: 
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a) Submit their respective reports to the DSWD and DENR containing data on the 
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amount (in tons) of its edible and inedible food surplus, organized according to the 
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manner of disposal, including donation, composting, or discarding; 
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b) Enter into a contract with food banks to redistribute edible food surplus to the food 
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insecure; 
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c) Ensure that edible food surplus is unadulterated and in good condition upon arrival at 
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the food bank’s distribution center; and  
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d) Enter into a contract with waste management and recycling enterprises to recycle 
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inedible food surplus. 
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SEC. 9. National Food Surplus Scheme. – The DSWD, as the coordinating agency 
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between food businesses and food banks, shall: 
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a) Provide guidelines and standards for the collection, storage, and distribution of edible 
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food donated to food banks; 
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b) Ensure that food businesses have entered into contracts with food banks and issue 
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acceptance certificates to food businesses; 
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c) Ensure that food banks have adequate and appropriate storage for the edible food 
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surplus especially the highly perishable food; 
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d) Promote linkages between food banks and LGUs to create a community-based food 
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distribution system for the food insecure; and  
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e) Create a Self-Sufficiency Program that will provide the food insecure with skills 
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training in managing food banks and livelihood programs to avoid the dependence on 
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donation solely. 
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SEC. 10. Responsibility of LGUs in Waste Reduction Strategy. – LGUs are hereby 
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required to: 
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A) Submit a report that contains data on the amount (in tons) of inedible food surplus that 
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can be recycled as raw materials for fertilizers or compost, livestock feed or sources 
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of biofuel to the DA and DENR; 
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B) Initiate a waste segregation effort per household, ensuring inedible food surplus are 
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not mixed with garbage otherwise garbage found with food waste will not be 
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collected; 
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C) Shoulder the cost of transporting inedible food surplus from collection areas to waste 
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management sites; 
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D) Enter into contract with waste management and recycling enterprises to recycle 
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inedible food waste into fertilizer or compost, livestock feed or sources of biofuel; 
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and  
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E) Facilitate the distribution of fertilizer or compost to farms and community gardening 
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associations. 
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SEC. 11. Training of Sanitary Inspectors. – The NNC shall, in coordination with the 
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University of the Philippines College of Public Health and LGUs, conduct regular trainings 
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on the proper handling, collection, distribution and determination of edible and inedible food 
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surplus which includes microbiology, parasitology of food contaminant and the standards for 
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the classification of food quality. 
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SEC. 12. Liability Protection. – To protect the food donors from possible abuses, and 
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encourage donations, the liability of owners of the food-related businesses is limited only to 
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the time that they have possession of the food surplus. 
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Once a donation is received by the accredited food banks and/or farms, the owners shall 
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be exempt from any liability or injury arising therefrom. 
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SEC. 13. Prohibition of Selling Edible and Inedible Food Surplus. The reselling of 
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donated edible food surplus is strictly prohibited. The penalty of prision mayor shall be 
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imposed upon anyone caught reselling donated food surplus. If the offender is a juridical 
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entity, the responsible officers will be held liable for said violation. 
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SEC. 14. Penal Provisions Penalties. – The penalty of a fine amounting to Five 
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Hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000.com) shall be imposed upon any individual, private or 
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public entity, who makes edible food surplus unfit for human consumption. The same penalty 
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is applicable to private or public persons or entities who prevent the redirection of edible food 
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surplus to food banks or inedible food surplus to waste management and recycling 
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enterprises. The fines shall be imposed as follows: 
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First Time Offenders 
One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00) 
Third Time Offenders  
Two Million Pesos (P2,000,000.00) 
Fourth Time Offenders 
Three Million Pesos (P3,000,000.00) 
Fifth Time Offenders and Up 
Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00) 
 
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SEC. 15. Supervision. – The NNC, in coordination with the DSWD, shall supervise the 
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enforcement and implementation of this Act.  
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SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within sixty (60) days from the 
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effectivity of this Act, the NNC, in coordination with DWSD, DILG, DENR, DOST, DepEd, 
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and DOH, shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective 
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implementation of this Act.  
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SEC. 17. Separability Clause. – If for any reason, any part or provision of this Act is 
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declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected thereby 
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shall remain in full force and effect.  
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SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. - All laws, executive orders, presidential decrees, rules 
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and regulations, or part thereof contrary to or are inconsistent with any provision of this Act 
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are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly. 
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SEC. 19. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation. 
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Approved,