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Quezon City, Metro Manila

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session.
House Bill No.__ 1193 _

Introduced by Representative

BRIAN DANIEL POE LLAMANZARES, PhD, MNSA

AN ACT EXPANDING THE COVERAGE OF THE NATIONAL FEEDING PROGRAM
TO INCLUDE SECONDARY SCHOOLS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11037 OR THE "MASUSTANSYANG PAGKAIN PARA SA
BATANG PILIPINO ACT"

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

A World Bank report has estimated that the burden brought by childhood undernutrition
‘on the Philippine economy was at USD 4.4 billion or around 1.5% of our GDP in 2015’. The
same report has found that childhood undernutrition could lead to a staggering loss of our
country's human and economic potential, as such, eliminating malnutrition could improve a
child's development and future employability, and increase our country's GDP by a significant
amount. It stresses further that investments in nutrition are highly cost-effective.

The latest Expanded National Nutrition Survey of the Food and Nutrition Research
Institute has found that adolescents (aged 10 to 19 years old) from rural areas and those from the
poorest households showed higher prevalence of stunting compared to their counterparts in urban

+ Mbuya, N. V. N., Demombynes, G., Piza, S. F.A., and Adona, A. J. V. (2021) "Undernutrition in the
Philippines: Scale, Scope, and Opportunities for Nutrition Policy and Programming." World Bank Group.


areas and richer households ?, Adolescence is a pivotal time in a person's life, particularly in
terms of growth and development. Proper nutrition undeniably plays a key role in this, especially
with regard to a student's concentration, cognitive functions, and overall academic performance.
As such, the provision of fortified meals to students, replete with essential nutrients is important.

Unfortunately, this is not readily available to all students, particularly those from
households in the lowest quantiles who may have limited access to adequate nutritional meals at
home. This bill seeks to expand the coverage of the National Feeding Program to include
children in secondary schools as beneficiaries. Undernutrition can hamper a leamer's ability to
perform well in class-affecting their thinking skills, behavior, and overall health. Healthier
students are less likely to have fewer absences and improved learning behavior, yielding in better
and optimized learning in class.

The passage of the bill is earnestly sought.

HON. BRIAN NIEL POE LLAMANZARES, PhD, MNSA
Representative

FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-List

2 Department of Science and Technology - Food and Nutrition Research Institute. Philippine Nutrition
Facts and Figures 2018 - 2019: Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS)". May 2022.


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City, Metro Manila

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
House Bill No.-_ 1193

Introduced by Representative
BRIAN DANIEL POE LLAMANZARES, PhD, MNSA

AN ACT EXPANDING THE COVERAGE OF THE NATIONAL FEEDING PROGRAM
TO INCLUDE SECONDARY SCHOOLS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 11037 OR THE "MASUSTANSYANG PAGKAIN PARA SA
BATANG PILIPINO ACT"

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 Expanded National Feeding Program
Act.”

SEC, 2. Section 4(b) of Republic Act No. 11037, otherwise known as the “Masustansyang
Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act”, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Section 4(b). School-Based Feeding Program. — The DepEd shall implement a
school-based feeding program for undemourished public school children from
kindergarten to Grade Twelve (12): Provided, That the Program shall include the
provision of at least one (1) fortified meal to all undernourished public kindergarten,
elementary, and secondary school children for a period of not less than one hundred
twenty (120) days in a year: Provided, further, That the cost of the aforementioned
meals shall ensure that school children receive the appropriate amount of nutrition,
which may be adjusted every year to account for inflation and for nutritional
adjustments as recommended by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI):
Provided, furthermore, That for each school division of the DepEd, meal distribution
and other overhead costs of the program shall not be more than ten percent (10%) of



the total meal cost: Provided, finally, That in the preparation of fortified meals, the
DepEd shall collaborate with recognized parents’ organizations, as well as the parents
of the beneficiaries of the Program, whenever applicable.”

SEC. 3. Separability Clause, — Should any provision of this Act be declared unconstitutional,
the other provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 4. Repealing Clause, — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, or other issuances
or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or
modified accordingly.

SEC 5. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette ot in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,