THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
1 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
117 tfi"; 
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Introduced by Senator Edgardo J. Angara 
EXPLANATORY NOT 
In 1998, 9.2% of our Filipino children of pre-school age were underweight. 
7.2 % of them were wasted, and 5.4% of them were stunted. In the long-term, 
these children are more susceptible to infection and disease, and usually with 
more serious outcomes due to the effects of malnutrition. 
Consequently too, 
they absent themselves from school more frequently and have lower scholastic 
perform an ce . 
Malnutrition cuts across all island groupings. 
Western and Eastern 
Visayas, Southern and Central Mindanao, Bicol and even parts of the NCR have 
prevalence rates of underweight over 13%. In addition, over 30% of all children 
under the age of 5 years suffer from anemia. 
The most' effective means to target childhood malnutrition is through the 
public school network. Unfortunately, although there are current school feeding 
programs administered by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports, 
these programs rely heavily on allocations from budgets of senators or 
congressmen, or donations from private individuals and corporations. There is 
therefore an urgent need to immediately provide for an institutionalised and 
legislated child nutrition program targeting public elementary schools throughout 
the country. 
Through the Child Nutrition Act, a budgetary allocation shall be made to 
institutionalise a School Feeding Program throughout the public elementary 
school network, incentives shall also be given to private companies donating 
milk, juices, food and the like to the School Feeding Program. 
For the abovementioned reasons, the immediate approval of this bill is 
earnestly sought. 
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THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
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S. No. 
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Introduced by Senator Edgardo J. Angara 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR A SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRA 
D FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines 
in Congress assembled: 
Sec. I, 
Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Child Nutrition Act of 
the P h i I i p p i n es . 
I’ 
Sec. 2. 
Purpose. 
In recognition of the demonstrated ralationship 
between food and good nutrition and the capacity of children to develop and 
learn, school feeding and other child nutrition programs shall be extended, 
expanded, and strengthened under the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture 
as a measure to safeguard the health and well-being of the nation’s children, and 
to encourage the domestic consumption of agricultural and other foods in order 
to meet more effectively the nutritional needs of our children. 
Sec. 3. 
School Feeding Program. A school nutrition program (the 
“Program”) is hereby established, where the National Nutrition Council (“NNC”), 
the Department of Education, (“DepED”) and the Department of Health (“DOH”) 
shall initiate, maintain and expand a system of distribution of milk and fortified 
snack foods to public elementary school entrants for a minimum of one hundred 
twenty (120) feeding days, five (5) times a week and vitamin supplements for a 
period and in such dosages as may be determined by the DOH. The Program 
shall be administered inside the classroom. 
The Program likewise aims to 
make school entrants aware of the importance of good nutrition by providing 
relevant and user-friendly nutrition information and education materials. 
Provided, that the Program shall begin within the first two weeks of the school 
year. 
For purposes of this act, a school entrant is defined as a student enrolled 
in the first grade. 
Sec. 4. Obiectives of the Program. The Program shall: 
Provide fresh milk to public elementary schools through the 
cooperation of local cooperatives and dairy corporations; 
Provide vitamin supplements in such dosages and for such a duration 
as the DOH may determine most beneficial to the child’s health and 
nutritional well-being; 
Target all public school entrants regardless of their nutritional status; 
Each school entrant will receive milk and fortified snacks, based on a 
menu determined by the NNC in conjunction with the Department of 
V 


Science and Technology to consist of a combination of foods meeting 
the minimum nutritional requirements on the basis of tested nutritional 
research, except that the minimum nutritional requirements shall be 
measured by not less than the weekly average of the nutrient content of 
the meals; 
Beneficiaries shall eat their snack inside the classroom during recess 
time and shall not be allowed to bring home his ration; Provided, that if a 
school child was absent, the school feeding coordinator in the school 
shall insure that his share for that day shall be added to his share the 
next feeding day when he reports back to class; Provided, further, that 
only twice the usual serving portion shall be allowed to an absentee 
school child; Provided, finally, that in case of prolonged absence, both 
the milk and/or snack food shall be given on a staggered basis, doubling 
his share every feeding day until the school child catches up with the 
others; 
(6) Beneficiaries shall take their vitamin supplements inside the classroom 
simultaneously with the fortified snack. 
(5) 
Section 5. Incentives to Private Companies. Local dairy cooperatives, 
private agricultural companies and other companies donating food, milk, juices, 
vitamin supplements or other similar products (the “Product”), are’ hereby 
allowed to deduct from its gross income earned two hundred percent (200%) of 
the value of the Product, provided that: 
the donation is duly approved by the Secretary of Education, 
Culture and Sports upon recommendation of the Director of 
the NNC, in case of food products, and the Secretary of 
Health, in case of vitamin products; and 
the deduction shall not exceed twenty percent (20%) of gross 
income earned. 
I. 
2. 
Section 6. Social Mobilization and Preparation. Orientation-training shall 
be held among DECS health and nutrition unit personnel at the regional and 
division levels, in order to orient them on the Program’s objectives and 
mechanics and generate support to the Program. 
An orientation-workshop shall be conducted at the district and school 
levels for district and school level heads. The output shall be the school plan of 
action containing the roles and responsibilities of the concerned school 
personnel. 
Training and orientation shall be conducted by the DECS core of 
trainors, with personnel trained at the schools division level being responsible for 
training staff at the district and municipal level; and those trained at the municipal 
level training the implementers and feeding coordinators at the school level. 
The feeding coordinator shall conduct the briefing among parents and 
children, including determining the baseline knowledge of the children and their 
parents on nutrition through a pre-test and delineating the roles among parents 
during the duration of the feeding. 
Feeding paraphernalia consisting of placemats, napkin, spoon and fork, 
small bowl, saucer, mugs and drinking glass should be brought by the pupils 
Section 7. Simultaneous examination. A simultaneous health and dental 
examination and deworming of the participating children shall be done during the 
meeting-orientation of parents. These shall be conducted by the division/district 
medical staff and nurses or the Rural Health Unit in the community. Pupils found 


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with defects/ailments shall be given proper treatment or referred to hospitals. 
Classroom advisers shall note observations regarding the pupils’ health 
condition. Height and weight of pupils shall be taken before the Program and 
every month after the start thereof. 
Section 8. Procurement, Storaqe and Handling of Food Items and 
Vitamin Supplements. Procurement of the fortified snack foods shall be done by 
DECS in coordination with the NNC, and in cases where rice or sugar will be 
distributed, in coordination with the National Food Authority (NFA), while that of 
fresh milk shall be procured by the National Dairy Authority (NDA). Vitamin 
supplements shall be procured by the DOH. 
All public elementary schools shall submit to DECS the number of 
school entrants expected by April I 5  of each year. The list shall be consolidated 
by DECS and used as a basis for procuring fortified snack foods. DECS shall 
insure the food commodities arrive on time to the schools through the district 
schools, which shall be the designated pick-up point. Public elementary schools 
shall pick up the commodities after the fifth day of each month even without 
notice from the district school. 
DECS shall furnish the DOH with the number of school entrants per 
district by April 30 of each year. The list shall be used by the DOH as a basis for 
procuring vitamin supplements. DOH shall insure delivery to the district school of 
vitamin supplements needed for that district within the first five (5) days of each 
month. 
For the fresh milk, DECS shall furnish the NDA with the number of 
children per school located in the twelve (12) key dairy development areas of the 
country, with local dairy cooperatives delivering fresh milk daily to schools to 
insure freshness and safety. The NDA shall make payment upon the local dairy 
cooperative upon submission of a certification issued by the public elementary 
school stating that fresh milk was received in good condition. The fresh milk 
should be individually packed in sealed plastic, provided with straw and properly 
packed in ice to avoid spoilage during transport. Provided, that the local dairy 
cooperative shall be responsible to insure the safety of the fresh milk before it 
reaches the school. 
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Section 9.Role of the Secretary of Aariculture. The Secretary of 
Agriculture shall provide technical assistance and training, including technical 
assistance and training in the preparation of foods high in complex 
carbohydrates and lower-fat versions of foods commonly used in the Program, to 
schools participating in the Program to assist the schools in complying with the 
nutritional requirements prescribed by the NNC in coordination with the DOST 
and in providing appropriate meals to children with medically certified special 
dietary needs. 
Section I O .  Use in Program of food in abundance or donated. Each 
school participating under the Program shall, insofar as practicable, utilize in its 
Program foods designated from time to time by the Secretary of Agriculture as 
being in abundance, either nationally or in the school area, or foods donated by 
private entities with the consent of the DECS and NNC. Provided, that smuggled 
agricultural products which have been seized by the proper authorities and which 
are certified by the DOH as fit for consumption may be donated by the proper 
authorities for this Program. 
Section 1 1. Local Government Participation. Local Government Units 
where school districts are located shall provide a counterpart fund of at least 


twenty percent (20%) of the cost incurred for Programs implemented within their 
jurisdiction. 
Section 12. Priority Areas. In case of shortage of funds, the 
implementation of the Program shall first be undertaken in provinces where 
malnutrition rates are most severe, as may be determined by the NNC. 
Section 13. Rules and Renulations. The DECS, NNC and DOST shall 
draw the implementing rules and regulations of this Act within thirty (30) days 
from the effectivity of this Act. 
Section, 14. ApDropriations. An initial sum of One Hundred Million Pesos 
(P 100,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated for the first year of implementation f 
the Program. Thereafter, all appropriations shall be taken from the annual 
appropriations of the NNC. Provided, that all administrative expenses of the 
Program shall be taken from the DECS annual appropriations. 
Section 15. Effectivity. This law shall take effect within fifteen (15) days 
from publication in a newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved. 
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