Introduced by SENATOR COMPARERA PIA S. CAYETANO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This bill designates the month of August of every year as "National Breasffeeding 
Awareness Month'' in order to protect, promote and support breastfeeding in the Philippines 
as the normal, natural and preferred method of feeding infants and young children. The core 
message of the bill is specially urgent today as a reported 16,000 Filipino babies die every 
year - more than all those who died from insurgency and terrorism combined - directly due to 
the harmful effects of bottle-feeding. 
There is no other natural food in the world than breastmilk and no other natural choice 
than breastfeeding. Breastmilk is the perfect, irreplaceable gift a mother can give to her baby. 
It is the best start a baby can have in life. Decades of research have shed light on the vast 
array of benefits of breastfeeding: 
3 Provides the perfect food that cannot be duplicated, actually altering in 
composition to meet the changing nutritional needs of the growing infant. 
3 Provided .iO,itial immunization against illness and infection and reduces the 
likelihoba of allergy. 
3 Prevents diarrhea, the leading cause of infant death in developing countries. 
3 Aids the development of a baby's eyesight, speech and intelligence. 
3 Saves money: given the fact that breastmilk is practically free, there will be no 
need for mothers to spend money to buy expensive infant formulas and feeding 
equipment. WHO estimates that Filipinos spend P43 billion a year to formula-feed 
their babies. 
3 Environmentally friendly: breastmilk is a naturally-renewable resource that saves 
fuel, energy and resources. 
3 Provides long-term health benefits for both mother and child. 
3 Promotes a special loving bond between mother and baby. 
Yet, in the Philippines today, there is an alarming drop in the number of mothers who 
breastfeed despite the enactment in 1986 of Executive Order 51, otherwise known as the 
"National Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, Breastmilk Supplements and Other 
Related Products" that seeks to promote a national policy on breastfeeding and control the 
unethical marketing practices of milk companies. 
This bill seeks to reestablish the culture of breastfeeding and instill public awareness 
about its superiority and benefits vis-a-vis bottle-feeding. Choosing to return to this time- 
honored tradition and nurturing value will save lives and strengthen not only the health of our 
children, but also our community and our future. 
Immediate approval of this bill is thus most earnestly and urgently sought 


OF THE PHILIPPINES 
first Regular Session 
S E N A T E  
Introduced by SENATOR COMPANERA PIA S. CAYETANO 
AN ACT 
DECLARING THE MONTH OF AUGUST OF EVERY YEAR 
AS "NATIONAL BREASTFEEDING AWARENESS MONTH" 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Shorf Title. - This Act shall be known as "The National Breastfeeding 
Awareness Month Act." 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - In line with the principles and mandates set by 
the Philippine Constitution that "the State shall protect and promote the right to health of the 
people and instill health consciousness among them" (Article 2, Section 15), that "the State 
shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development" (Article 13, 
Section II), 
and that "the State shall defend the right of children to assistance, including 
proper care and nutrition" (Article 15. Section 3.2), the month of August in each and every 
year throughout the Philippines shall be known under the name of "National Breastfeeding 
Awareness Month." 
SECTION 3. Public Education and Awareness Program. - To ensure the 
meaningful observance of the month as herein declared, a comprehensive public education 
and awareness program shall be undertaken: 
1. To protect, promote, and support breastfeeding in the Philippines as the normal, 
natural and preferred method of feeding infants and young children; 
2. To guarantee the rightful place of breastfeeding in society as a time-honored 
tradition and nurturing value as well as a national health policy that must be 
enforced; 
3. To provide information about the benefits and superiority of breastfeeding and the 
high risks and costs of bottle-feeding; 
4. To generate awareness on and full enforcement of national and international laws, 
codes, policies and programs on the promotion and protection of safe and adequate 
nutrition for infants and young children by promoting and protecting breastfeeding 
and by regulating the marketing of certain foods and feeding bottles, teats and 
pacifiers; and 
5. To instill recognition and support and ensure access to comprehensive, current, and 
culturally appropriate lactation care and services for all women, children, and 
families, including support for breastfeeding mothers in the work force. 
SECTION 4. Inter-Agency and Multi-Sectoral Effort. - The Department of Health 
shall lead in the implementation of the comprehensive national public education and 
awareness program on breastfeeding through a collaborative inter-agency and multi-sectoral 
effort at all levels. It shall particularly ensure widespread and expeditious public information 


about the benefits and superiority of breastfeeding and the high risks and costs entailed in 
bottle-feeding. 
SECTION 5. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect twenty (20) days after its 
publication in a newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved,