Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

6
HOUSE BILL NO. as

Introduced by Representative FAUSTINO ‘INNO’ A. DY V

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Pursuant to the United Nation’s Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Philippines
committed to end involuntary hunger by 2030. In 2015, the Philippines renewed its
commitment to end involuntary hunger. But in 2019 (or a mere four years after the country
renewed its commitment), an SWS study revealed that, in the first three months of the year, at
least 2.3 million Filipino families are food insecure as they suffer from involuntary hunger.
And as the prices of food and other basic commodities continue to rise, the number of Filipino
families who are food insecure will likewise rise too.

Despite the number of starving Filipinos, the PSA reports that almost 800,000! sacks
of rice (representing almost 40? million kilograms) needlessly end up as food waste every year.
Much of this food remains edible but needlessly go to waste for lack of government support to
redistribute it to needy Filipinos. In addition, unsold but edible food represents sunk costs that
suppliers and sellers cannot recover.

Clearly, there is an urgent need for the Government to enact measures to confront the
shocking discrepancy between the millions of food insecure Filipinos and the millions of kilos
of surplus food that needlessly go to waste every year. In addition, the Government likewise
needs to comply with its commitment to the UN to end involuntary hunger by 2030.

‘As a result, this measure urgently seeks to institute a system to redistribute surplus
edible food to Filipinos who are food insecure. To attain its goal, it shall:

a) Empower the DSWD, in coordination with LGUs, to identify Filipinos who are
food insecure;

b) Institute a system to bring surplus edible food to food insecure Filipinos—
starting from donation and segregation up to redistribution and consumption;

170,140
238.507 million kilograms


©) Authorize the DSWD as coordinating agency to accredit, monitor, and regulate
food banks, the non-profit or charitable organizations that will distribute food
to the food insecure;

d)

Launch a National Food Surplus Campaign to inform Filipinos of the harmful
impact of food surplus in addition to giving them strategies to reduce food
waste;

e) Vest responsibilities on LGUs and relevant government agencies in pursuit of
this measure’s goal of eliminating involuntary hunger in the Philippines;

f) Grant tax incentives to food-related businesses for donating edible food surplus;
and

g) Punish persons who make edible food surplus unfit for consumption and who
prevent the redistribution of edible food surplus to food banks.

Hence, the urgent passage of this measure is immediately sought.

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ISTINO “INNO” A. DY V


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

6468

HOUSE BILL 2

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Introduced by Representative FAUSTINO ‘INNO’ A. DY V

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AN ACT
REDUCING FOOD WASTE THROUGH FOOD DONATIONS AND FOOD WASTE
RECYCLING

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SEC. 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Food Waste Reduction Act."

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ The State recognizes that each person has a right to an
adequate standard of living, including sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. It is hereby declared
a policy of the State to achieve food security, end hunger, and promote the efficient use of the
country's food resources. The considerable number of people going hungry daily is a breach of
a human right that this Act intends to correct, and the massive amount of food waste produced
presents an opportunity for the State to address hunger and raise the quality of life of the
underprivileged. Towards this end, the State shall adopt a system to promote, facilitate, and
ensure the reduction of food waste through redistribution and recycling. The State shall
likewise implement measures to make it mandatory to donate edible food surplus for charitable
purposes.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act:
a) Edible food surplus - refers to excess food or surplus food in the retail and consumption

stages, determined to be fit for consumption based on standards set by the National
Nutrition Council (NNC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA);


b)

Food insecure - refers to persons or groups of persons who have no means and/or have

difficulty producing or purchasing food;

c) Food surplus reduction - refers to the decrease in food surplus generation, the redistribution
of food surplus to the food insecure or the recycling of food as fertilizer or compost;

d) Food-related business - refers to public and private businesses involved in the
manufacturing and processing of food products, private businesses involved in the
wholesaling and retailing of food products, private businesses involved in serving food
products, and private institutions offering courses in the art and science of preparation,
cooking, and presentation of food;

e) Food banks - refer to nonprofit, charitable or other social mission-oriented organizations
that distribute food to the food insecure; and

f) Inedible food surplus - refers to food discarded in the retail and consumption stages,

determined to be unfit for consumption based on the standards set by the NNC and the

FDA, including but not limited to prepackaged food products that have gone beyond their

expiry dates.

SEC. 4. Covered Establishments. — The establishments covered by this Act are as follows:

a) Food manufacturers, notwithstanding any restriction imposed by any existing law and
regulation on food manufacturers: Provided, that any donation made by such
manufacturers under the provisions of this Act shall constitute an exception to the
applicability of restrictions under existing laws and regulations;

b) Food establishments (restaurants, cafes, diners, fast food chains or hotels);

c) Supermarkets with at least five hundred (500) square meters of selling space; and

d) Culinary schools with at least fifty (50) students.

SEC. 5. Determination of Food Insecure. — The criteria for the determination of food insecure
will be made by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), in coordination
with the local government units (LGUs).

SEC. 6. National Food Surplus Campaign. —The NNC, in close coordination with the DSWD,
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Science and Technology
(DOST), Department of Agriculture (DA), FDA, and other concemed agencies and LGUs,
shall undertake a National Food Surplus Campaign to raise awareness on the impact of food


surplus and strategies to decrease wasted food starting at the household level. The campaign
shall also promote the food surplus reduction hierarchy and recommend means of reducing
individual food waste.

To educate the younger generation, the DepEd shall have the duty to ensure that the
prescribed curriculum includes informative materials on the following:

a) Current global and national food waste situation;

b) Ways to minimize food surplus;

c) National and local food surplus prevention programs;
d) Food recovery; and

e) Pertinent provisions of this Act

SEC. 7. Edible Food Surplus Distribution Steps. — The following steps shall be followed in
edible food surplus distribution;

a) The owners of the covered establishments will segregate their edible and inedible food

surplus;

To facilitate distribution, food manufacturers may opt to perform the segregation of

their products at the supermarkets that sell their products;

©) Before a donation is made, a duly accredited health inspector of the LGU will check if

the food surplus is fit for consumption based on the standards set by the NNC and FDA;

Upon certifying that the food surplus is fit for consumption, the edible food surplus will

be donated to accredited food banks, as determined by the DSWD; and

) Food banks, in coordination with the DSWD and LGUs, will distribute the edible food
surplus to the food insecure.

b)

d)

SEC. 8. Food-related Business Waste Reduction Strategy. — The owners of food-related
businesses such as food manufacturers, supermarkets, restaurants, cafeterias, culinary schools,
and hotels shall:

a) Submit their respective reports to the DSWD and DENR containing data on the amount
(in tons) of its edible and inedible food surplus, organized according to the manner of
disposal, including donation, composting, or discarding;

b) Enter into a contract with food banks to redistribute edible food surplus to the food

insecure; and


©) Ensure that the edible food surplus is unadulterated and in good condition upon arrival
at the food bank's distribution center, in accordance with the standards set by the NNC
and FDA.

SEC. 9. National Food Surplus Scheme. ~The DSWD, as the coordinating agency between
food businesses and food banks, shall:

a) Provide guidelines and standards for the collection, storage, and distribution of edible
food donated for food banks;

b) Ensure that food businesses have entered into contracts with food banks and issue

acceptance certificates to food businesses;

Ensure that food banks have adequate storage for edible food surplus;

Promote linkages between food banks and LGUs to create a community-based food
distribution system for the food insecure; and

) Create as self-sufficiency program that will provide the food insecure with skills

°)
d)

training in managing food banks and livelihood programs to avoid the dependence on
donation solely.

SEC. 10. Responsibility of LGUs in Waste Reduction Strategy. — LGUs are hereby required

to:

a) Submit a report to the DENR containing data on the amount (in tons) of inedible food
surplus that can be recycled as raw materials for fertilizer or compost, in accordance
with the standards set by said department;

b) Initiate waste segregation efforts per household through local campaigns;

©) Shoulder the cost of transporting inedible food surplus from collection areas to waste
management sites;

d

Enter into contract with waste management and recycling enterprises to recycle inedible
food waste into fertilizer or compost; and

©)

Facilitate the distribution of fertilizer or compost to farms and community gardening

associations.

SEC. 11. Accreditation and Training of Health Inspectors. ~The DOH, in coordination with
the FDA, shall conduct seminars and provide adequate training to LGU health inspectors
regarding the proper sorting, collection, and determination of edible and inedible food surplus.


SEC. 12. Supervision. — The NNC, in coordination with the DSWD, shall supervise the

enforcement and implementation of this Act.

SEC. 13. Liability Protection. — To protect the food donors from possible abuses and
encourage donations, the liability of owners of the food-related businesses is limited only to
the time that they have possession of the food surplus. Once a donation has been made to the
accredited food banks, the owners shall be exempt from any liability and/or injury arising
therefrom.

SEC. 14. Tax Incentive. - Donations of edible food surplus by food-related businesses shall
be exempt from donor's tax and the same shall be considered as allowable deductions from
their gross income, in accordance with the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code
of 1997, as amended.

SEC. 15. Prohibition of Selling Edible and Inedible Food Surplus. ~ The reselling of donated
edible and inedible food surplus is strictly prohibited. The penalty of prision mayor shall be
imposed upon anyone caught reselling donated food surplus. If the offender is a juridical entity,
the responsible officers will be held liable for said violation.

SEC. 16. Penal Provisions/Penalties. - The penalty of a fine amounting to Five Hundred
Thousand Pesos (P500,000.00) shall be imposed upon any individual or entity who makes
edible food surplus unfit for consumption. Penalties shall also be imposed upon any individual
or entity who prevents the redirection of edible food surplus to food banks or inedible food
surplus to waste management and recycling enterprises. The fines shall be imposed as follows:

First time offenders P1,000,000.00
Second time offenders P1,500,000.00
Third time offenders P2,000,000.00
Fourth time offenders P3,000,000.00
Fifth time offenders P5,000,000.00

SEC. 17. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days from the effectivity
of this Act, the NNC, in coordination with the DSWD, DILG, DENR, DOST, DepEd, and
DOH, shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of
this Act.


SEC. 18. Separability Clause. — If any portion or provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provisions not affected thereby shall remain

in force and effect.

SEC. 19. Repealing Clause. — Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive order, letter
of instruction, rule or regulation inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed
or modified accordingly.

SEC. 20. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its complete
publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,