SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
) 
S E NATl 
Senate Bill No. 031 
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Introduced by: Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" A. Aquino IV 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
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"You cannot feed the mind on an empty stomach." This is a truth that millions of 
Filipinos know and feel all too well. Every day, millions of Filipino children trek to school, 
underfed and undernourished, yet expected to fully absorb the lessons of the day. 
In a study called "The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012", conducted by the 
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a total of 16 million Filipinos were considered 
undernourished 2010 to 2012, even as the number of chronically undernourished people 
dropped in all other Southeast Asian countries. Despite our growing economy, there are more 
underfed people in the Philippines today than there were two decades ago. 
Meanwhile, another recent study on "the role of early childhood nourishment and 
health in connection with human capital accumulation", published by Dartmouth University in 
2012, revealed that the long-term detrimental effects of childhood hunger have a greater 
impact on school children than the effects of substandard schooling, infrastructure, classrooms, 
and textbooks. 
This is perhaps one of the main reasons why Filipino children continue to lag behind our 
Asian neighbors in standardized tests. How can we expect them to do well in school when we 
have not given their brains the proper nourishment and fuel. for the tasks that lie ahead of 
them? 
Thus, the proposed "Pagkaing Pinoy para sa Batang Pinoy" bill seeks to alleviate 
childhood malnutrition in the Phiilppines through a feeding program for public kindergarten 
and elementary school children. It will promote the health of children who are most in need, by 
providing regular and free access to nutritious food within a safe and clean school and 
community environment. 
The benefits of the bill do not end there. To enhance the social value of this proposed 
measure, the feeding program will utilize, when possible and available, locally-sourced and 
locally-produced food products in order also support local farmers and farming communities, 
and thus provide direct support to local agricultural communities. By providing a regular market 
for the products of local farmers and small entrepreneurs, this feeding program will help 
address not only child malnutrition but also poverty in the countryside. 
The bill will entail partnerships with the Department of Agriculture (DA), the 
Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the 
Department of Education (DepEd), and local government units . 
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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
) 
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L. LL 
SENAJ"~ 
S.B. No. 
.1 U 31 
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Introduced by: Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" A. Aquino IV 
ANAcr 
CREATING A FOOD PURCHASE AND DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM 
FOR SCHOOL CHILDREN 
SUPPORTING LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as "Pagkaing Pinoy para sa mga Bata." 
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SECTION 2. Dec/aration of Policies. - The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in 
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nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and 
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social well-being. 
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It is a policy of the State to give priority to education to foster patriotism and 
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nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total human liberation and development. 
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Accordingly, the State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at 
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all levels, and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all. 
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In recognition of the demonstrated relationship between food and nutrition and the 
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capacity of children to develop and learn, the State shall address the problem of malnutrition 
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and under nutrition among children and enhance the learning process by establishing a national 
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feeding program for school children in public kindergarten and elementary schools throughout 
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the country. At the same time, the State shall elevate the social value of this program by 
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supporting and promoting local food production and income generation in the country side. 
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SECTION 3. Food Purchase and Distribution Program for Schools. - The Food Purchase· 
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and Distribution Program for Schools is hereby created to be governed by the following rules: 
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(a) A thorough assessment of the nutritional needs of students shall be conducted, 
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based on the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, 
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Vitamin C, and calories for school children set by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute 
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(FNRI), as well as with the farming culture and diets of every local government unit. 
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(b) The Department of Agriculture in coordination with its regional offices and the local 
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government units shall identify in the first six (6) months of this program the relevant 
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agricultural products that are grown by local farming communities in order to enhance the 
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social value of the purchase and distribution of food to schools across the country. It will 
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determine how locally-produced food products can most effectively be utilized for the program. 
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(c) The Department of Agriculture shall be the lead department in identifying the 
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farmers who can supply the food products required in this program based on the price and 
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availability of products in the local market, including the number of farmers to be benefited and 
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communities supported. 
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(d) Technical Training and Assistance on Food Preparation, Safety, and Sanitation. - The 
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Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Health, the Technical 
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Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and other appropriate government 
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agencies, shall develop a program to provide the food service personnel and/or other suppliers 
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of public kindergarten and elementary schools with technical training and assistance in the 
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preparation of healthy and nutritious meals, food safety, and sanitation. 
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(e) The Department of Education, in coordination with the Department of Health, and 
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the Department of Agriculture, shall draw up a menu list of food products that can be served to 
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public kindergarten and elementary school children. The menu list needs to be drawn up 
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according to age range, type of school and the hours that students spend in school. When two 
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meals are served, at least thirty percent (30%) of daily nutritional requirements should be 
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provided. In schools with a full-day curriculum, the minimum shall be seventy percent (70%). 
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(f) In the first two (2) years of this program, the program shall focus on thirty percent 
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(30%) of the poorest provinces in the country. In the third year to the fourth year, the next 
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thirty percent (30%) of the poorest provinces shall be included in the program. The rest of the 
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country shall be included in the program in the fifth to sixth years of its implementation. 
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SECTION 4. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within one (1) month from the 
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effectivity of this Act, the Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of _ 
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Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development and Local Government Units (LGUs) 
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shall issue the Implementing Rules and Regulations for the implementation of this Act. 
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SECTION 5. Periodic Review. - The implementing departments shall submit an annual 
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report to Congress on the progress of this program. 
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SECTION 6. Appropriations. -
To carry out the proVisions of this Act, such amounts 
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necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury. Thereafter, such 
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amounts necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be included in the annual 
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appropriation of the Department of Education. 
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SECTION 7. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
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unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
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valid and subsisting. 
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SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
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order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
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with, the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
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SECTION 9. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
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