Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY G. 
HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS ENCISO VIII 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Food insecurity is measured through a household’s experience of anxiety over food 
sources and hunger1. More than 8 million rated themselves as “food poor” on a survey2 
and the country’s food insecurity status from 2001 remains high. This has led to the 
worsening of the malnutrition problem among Filipinos—the Philippine is top among 
ASEAN countries in the ranking of Child Wasting, or children who have acute 
malnutrition. 
At the last quarter of 2018, some 2.4 million Filipino families experienced involuntary 
hunger. Despite being rich in agricultural resources, the Philippines remains to be food 
insecure3 and the top ASEAN country for undernourishment4. Hunger, poverty and 
food security are closely related—a high incidence of poverty conventionally equates 
to higher food hunger incidence. Although hunger rates have lowered compared to the 
past5, there is still much to go on for food security in the country. No Filipino deserves 
to go hungry. 
To address this, this legislation seeks to make it a State obligation to ensure access 
1FNRI-DOST. Accessed July 15, 2019. https://pia.gov.ph/features/articles/1020538 
2 Villanueva, Rhodina. October 17, 2018. Philippine Star. Accessed July 15, 2019. 
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/10/17/1860727/make-food-security-priority 
3 Mercado, Neil Arwin. April 25, 2019. “Philippine hunger rate drops in Q1 2019 – SWS”. Inquirer.net. Accessed July 15, 2019. 
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1110445/philippine-hunger-rate-drops-in-q1-2019-sws 
4 Dy, Rolando. January 28, 2019. “Where is the Philippines in Global Hunger in ASEAN?”. Business World. Accessed July 15, 2019. 
https://www.bworldonline.com/where-is-the-philippines-in-global-hunger-in-asean/ 
5 Philippine Star. October 17, 2018. Accessed July 15, 2019. https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/10/17/1860952/philippines-moves-
global-food-security-index
July 5, 2022
4:58 pm
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to food, its availability and adequacy, and provide a comprehensive legal framework 
to harmonize Philippine laws on the right to adequate food, clarify standards and 
prohibit violations against it. 
The bill proposes to create the Commission on the Right to Adequate Food in charge 
of administering and overseeing the implementation of the said measure. It sets 
percentage targets on the reduction of hunger and aims for a zero incidence of hunger, 
obligating the country to act on the promise of reducing hunger. This bill also does not 
forgive lightly those who deliberately starve or deny access to food to anyone or any 
group by providing for penalties. 
The approval of this bill, filed as a counterpart to Senator Poe’s version in the Senate, 
is earnestly sought. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
 MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE 
TSUYOSHI ANTHONY G. HORIBATA 
NICOLAS ENCISO VIII 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY G. 
HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS ENCISO VIII 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING A FRAMEWORK TO PROTECT AND PROMOTE THE RIGHT TO 
ADEQUATE FOOD 
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 “Right to Adequate Food 
Act”. 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — Consistent with the principles enshrined in the 
Constitution as well as the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, 
Social and Cultural Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention 
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, to which the 
Philippines is a State Party, it is hereby declared the policy of the State to guarantee 
the right to adequate food. 
Adequate food is not a matter of charity, but a legal entitlement. Hunger is 
inconsistent with human dignity and human rights, and must be eliminated. Towards 
this end, the State shall provide for a framework to address and eliminate hunger in 
an organized 14 manner, and protect the right of the people to adequate food. 
SEC. 3. Definitions. — As used in this Act: 
a. Dietary needs refer to a mix of nutrients for physical and mental growth,
development and maintenance, and physical activity, that follow human
physiological needs at all stages throughout the life cycle, and according to
gender and occupation;
b. Food refers to solid, liquid and semi-liquid nourishment, as well as drinking
water, and when taken into the body serves to nourish, build and repair tissues,
supply energy, or regulate body processes;
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c. Food blockade refers to an act of cutting off food supplies from a particular 
area by force, either in part or totally; 
 
d. Food emergency refers to a situation in which access to food is endangered, 
as that caused by natural events like drought, floods, storms, earthquakes, or 
crop failures resulting from pests or diseases; or by human agency such as 
internal or international armed conflict; or infectious disease outbreaks or 
pandemics, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and 
Coronavirus 19 disease (COVID-19); 
 
e. Food sovereignty refers to the right of people to healthy and culturally 
appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable 
methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems, 
putting-the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and 
consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the 
demands of markets and corporations; 
 
f, Hunger refers to a condition in which people do not get enough food to eat to 
provide the necessary nutrients for fully productive, active and healthy living 
due to the unavailability and inaccessibility of food, which may be (a) acute, 
such as during a major disaster when food supply channels are cut, (b) chronic, 
when people are regularly not getting enough food to conduct an active life for 
a long time, or (c) a condition of starvation, which is not having enough food of 
any sort to eat, or (d) undernourishment, which is having enough food to eat, 
but of inadequate quality; and 
 
g. Vulnerable groups refer to those who are particularly disadvantaged such as 
indigenous peoples, ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities, persons with 
disabilities, persons living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) or 
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), refugees and internally 
displaced people, elderly, women, including pregnant and lactating mothers 
and children, particularly those from zero to twenty-three (23) months of age. 
 
SEC. 4. Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food. — Every person 
has the right to have regular, permanent and unrestricted access, either directly or by 
means of financial purchases, to quantitatively and qualitatively adequate, sufficient 
and safe food, corresponding to the cultural traditions of the people to which a 
consumer belongs, and which ensure physical and mental, individual and collective, 
fulfilling and dignified life, free of fear. 
 
The right to adequate food is realized when every man, woman and child, alone 
or in community with others, have physical and economic access at all times to 
adequate food, or means for its procurement. The right to adequate food must not be 
interpreted in a narrow or restrictive sense, which equates it with a minimum package 
of calories, proteins and other specific nutrients. The right to adequate food must be 
realized progressively. 
 
SEC. 5. Core Content on the Right to Adequate Food. — The core content of the 
right to adequate food includes the concepts of food availability and accessibility, 
which must be in a quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the dietary needs of 


individuals, and in ways that are sustainable, and do not interfere with the enjoyment 
of other human rights. 
 
SEC. 6. Food Adequacy Standard. — Central to the realization of the right to 
adequate food is the standard of adequacy in terms of quality, quantity and cultural 
acceptability, sustainability of food availability and access. 
 
The standard of adequacy includes a number of factors which must be 
considered in determining whether particular foods or diets that are accessible can be 
considered the most appropriate under given circumstances. Sustainability is 
intrinsically linked to the concept of adequate food or food security, implying that food 
must be accessible to both present and future generations. 
 
The concept of adequacy to a large extent is determined by prevailing social, 
economic, cultural, climatic, ecological and other conditions, while sustainability 
incorporates long-term availability and accessibility. 
 
SEC. 7. Availability Standard. — Food must be available for feeding oneself directly 
from productive land or other natural resources, or for well-functioning distribution, 
processing and market systems that can move food from the site of production to 
where it is needed in accordance with demand. 
 
SEC. 8. Accessibility Standard. — Food accessibility is both economic, which refers 
to the acquisition pattern or entitlement through which people procure their food, and 
physical, where food must be accessible to everyone. 
 
Economic accessibility means that the personal or household financial cost 
associated with the acquisition of food for an adequate diet should be at a level such 
that the attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs are not threatened, or 
compromised. Economic accessibility applies to any acquisition pattern or entitlement 
through which people procure their food, and is a measure of the extent to which it is 
satisfactory for the enjoyment of the right to adequate food. 
 
Physical accessibility means that adequate food must be accessible to 
everyone, including physically vulnerable individuals, such as infants and young 
children, elderly people, those belonging to the informal sector, the physically disabled, 
the terminally ill and persons with persistent medical problems, including the mentally 
ill. Victims of natural disasters, people living in disaster-prone areas and other specially 
disadvantaged groups, and many indigenous peoples groups whose access to their 
ancestral lands is threatened, need special attention and priority consideration with 
respect to accessibility of food. 
 
Socially vulnerable groups such as landless persons and other particularly 
impoverished segments of the population may need attention through special 
programs. 
 
SEC. 9. Cultural or Consumer Acceptability. — In providing food, there is a need 
to consider, as far as possible, the perceived non- nutrient-based values attached to 
food, and the consumer's concerns on the accessible food supplies. 


Food must be free from adverse substances to ensure food safety. Measures 
must be taken to maintain, adapt or strengthen dietary diversity and appropriate 
consumption and feeding patterns, including optimal breast-feeding, to ensure that 
changes in availability and access to food supply do not negatively affect dietary 
composition and intake. Care must also be taken to identify and avoid or destroy 
naturally occurring toxins. 
 
Freedom from adverse substances implies that the requirements for food safety 
and a range of protective measures are implemented to prevent contamination of 
foodstuff through adulteration, bad environmental hygiene, or inappropriate handling 
at different stages throughout the food chain. 
 
SEC. 10. Conditions for the Exercise of the Right to Adequate Food. — Every 
person has the right to live in conditions that shall enable the person to: 
 
a. Acquire food directly from productive land or other natural resources; or rely 
on well-functioning food distribution, processing and market systems, or both; 
 
b. Financially acquire a sufficient quantity and quality of food and to satisfy other 
basic needs; 
 
c. Be safe from the risk of losing access to food, as a consequence of sudden 
shocks, like an economic or climatic crisis, or one that is brought about by 
internal displacements of people, or cyclical events, such as seasonal food 
insecurity; 
 
d. Have the opportunity of good food utilization through access to adequate 
diet, clean water, sanitation and health care and to reach a state of nutritional 
well-being, where all physiological needs are met; and 
 
e. Access food or diet that is the most appropriate under given circumstances, 
in terms of their nutritional value and cultural acceptability, 
 
Every infant, girl and boy, has a right to adequate food and to optimal health, 
development and nutrition adequate for their age, growth and development. 
 
Every woman has a right to adequate food and adequate nutrition during 
pregnancy and lactation.  
 
Unless it is provided by law, or is necessary for the purpose of a compelling 
public interest, and is compatible with the nature of the right to adequate food, there 
is no limitation on the right to adequate food. 
 
SEC. 11. Freedom from Hunger. — Every person has a right to be free from hunger. 
Every person suffering from hunger or under nutrition, or at risk of suffering from 
hunger or under nutrition is entitled to a minimum amount of food according to one's 
age, sex, health status and occupation, as provided for in Section 19 of this Act. 
 
SEC. 12. Principles. — The provisions of this Act are founded on the rights-based 
principles of participation, accountability, non-discrimination, transparency, human 


dignity, empowerment and rule of law, and are consistent with the progressive 
realization of the right to adequate food. 
 
SEC. 13. Non-discrimination. — Any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the 
basis of race, color, sex, age, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or 
social origin, property, birth or other status, which has the effect or purpose of impairing 
or limiting the capacity of an individual to exercise the right to adequate food, is 
unlawful and shall be sanctioned in accordance with law. 
 
All forms of discrimination against women with regard to the right to adequate 
food, including less favorable treatment of women for reasons of pregnancy and 
maternity, shall be eliminated and prevented. The equality of opportunities between 
men and women shall be promoted. 
 
The prohibition of discrimination shall not include government action to remedy 
past effects of discrimination against particular individuals or groups and to promote 
equality of opportunities with regard to the right to adequate food. 
 
SEC. 14. Governmental Obligations. — The State, as the primary duty bearer, has 
the duty to respect, protect and fulfill the right to adequate food and maintain food 
sovereignty, in accordance with the conditions provided under Section 10 of this Act. 
 
The State has the core obligation to take the necessary action to mitigate and 
alleviate hunger, even in times of natural or other disasters. The right to be free from 
hunger ensures a minimum daily nutritional intake and the bare survival of a person. 
The right to adequate food goes beyond freedom from hunger. 
 
a. Respect — the State has the obligation not to interfere with or impair the 
enjoyment of the right to adequate food. No public authority may deprive any person 
of food or means for its procurement, apply laws and regulations, or pursue a policy 
or practice, in a way that may result in preventing the enjoyment of or infringing the 
human right to adequate food, or repeal formally or suspend legislation necessary for 
the continued enjoyment of the right to adequate food. 
 
b. Protect — the State has the duty to provide guarantees against threats and 
risks stemming from private actors or societal forces that are controllable by State 
action. It shall take preventive measures necessary to protect persons whose 
capacities to access sufficient and adequate food or means for its procurement are 
endangered by the acts of others. It also must review the relevant administrative and 
legislative framework ensuring that activities within their competence undertaken by 
private actors do not infringe on the right to adequate food of others. 
 
c. Fulfill — the State shall facilitate the enjoyment of the right to adequate food 
by adopting or pursuing appropriate policies and measures that promote the human 
right to adequate food and to create and maintain conditions under which every person 
can freely and regularly enjoy the right to adequate food. 
 
SEC. 15. Targets. — The State shall ensure that in two and a half years (2 h) after 
the effectivity of this Act, the incidence of hunger is reduced by twenty-five percent 
(25%), from the level recorded at the time of the passage of this Act: Provided, That 


five (5) years after the effectivity of this Act, such incidence of hunger will be further 
reduced by twenty-five percent (25%): Provided, further, That in seven and a half (7 
h) years, the incidence of hunger will be further reduced by twenty-five percent (25%): 
Provided, finally, That in ten (10) years, there shall be zero hunger incidence, 
 
The State shall also ensure that within ten (10) years from the effectivity of this 
Act, land devoted to food production is increased to fifty percent (50%) of all prime 
agricultural land in every region, and, within the same period, the State shall ensure 
that the following indicators are considerably and steadily increased: 
 
a. Percentage of development of ancestral lands; 
 
b. Percentage of rural population with access to productive resources;  
 
c. Share of budget spent on programs aimed at creating access to productive 
resources; 
 
d. Percentage of budget spent on agri-research, agri-extension, irrigation, 
training, technology, credits and rural development; 
 
e. Percentage of rural female-headed households, or rural women, with legal 
title to agriculture lands; 
 
f. Percentage of public budget allocation for social transfer programs to those 
unable to feed themselves; 
 
g. Coverage of marginalized and disadvantaged population taking part in social 
transfer programs; 
 
h. Percentage of marginalized and disadvantaged population covered by a 
public nutrition supplement program; 
 
i. Percentage of population aware of available food and nutrition programs; and 
 
j. Coverage of school feeding programs. 
 
The percentage rates used as indicators herein shall also be stipulated in the 
rules and regulations issued to implement the provisions of this Act. 
 
Periodic reviews shall be undertaken to ensure compliance with set targets. In 
the implementation of this Act, priority shall be given to identify areas with chronically 
malnourished population. In measuring the incidence of hunger, the key primary data 
sources will include national nutrition surveys, household surveys of the Philippine 
Statistics Authority (PSA), namely the Family Income and Expenditure Survey and the 
Annual Poverty Indicators Survey, and global hunger indices as benchmarks. 
 
SEC. 16. Institutional Responsibilities. — The following agencies of the government 
are required to fulfil their respective mandates in a manner that shall ensure full 
implementation of the primary objectives of this Act: 
a. 
Department of Agriculture (DA); 


 
b. 
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR); 
 
c, 
Department of Budget and Management (DBM); 
 
d. 
Department of Education (DepEd); 
 
e. 
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); 46 
 
f. 
Department of Health (DOH); 
 
g. 
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); 
 
h. 
Department of Justice (DOJ); 
 
 
i. 
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE); 
 
 
j. 
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); 
 
 
k. 
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); 
 
 
l, 
Department of Science and Technology (DOST); 
 
 
m. 
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); 
 
 
n. 
Commission on Human Rights (CHR); 
 
 
o. 
Commission on Higher Education (CHED); 
 
 
p. 
National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC); 
 
 
q. 
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA); 
 
 
r. 
National Food Authority (NEA); 
 
 
s. 
National Nutrition Council (NNC); 
 
t. 
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA); and 
 
u. 
other agencies and instrumentalities of the government whose functions 
are necessary for the efficient and effective implementation of the right to 
adequate food. 
 
In addition, the development of a fully integrated whole-of-government 
approach to implement the national policy governing the right to adequate food and 
the use of a human rights-based approach for the establishment and implementation 
of the national policy must be institutionalized. 
 


SEC. 17. Commission on the Right to Adequate Food. — There is hereby created 
a Commission on the Right to Adequate Food, hereinafter referred to as the 
Commission, which shall be attached to the Office of the President. 
 
The Commission shall be the primary policy-making and coordinating body to 
guarantee full exercise of the right to adequate food. It shall exercise monitoring and 
oversight functions, apply human rights principles, conduct objective impact 
assessment on all government policies, programs and projects prior to adoption and 
implementation, work in close cooperation, and coordination with relevant government 
agencies and in consultations with civil society organizations and the private sector, 
and use all available resources for the efficient and effective implementation of this 
Act. 
 
It shall formulate a national food policy consistent with the policy formulated by 
the Inter-Agency Task Force on Zero Hunger. The Commission shall implement 
programs of action to eradicate hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and 
promote sustainable agriculture. 
 
The Commission on the Right to Adequate Food shall have the following powers: 
 
a. Receive complaints of violations of the right to adequate food from individuals 
and groups; 
 
b. Investigate, motu propio, or upon complaint by any party, all forms of 
violations of the right to adequate food; 
 
c. Adopt operational guidelines and rules of procedure, and cite for contempt 
individuals and groups for their violations in accordance with the Rules of Court; 
 
d. Provide appropriate legal measures for the protection of the right to adequate 
food of all persons within the Philippines, as well as Philippine citizens residing 
abroad, and provide for preventive measures and legal aid services to the 
under18 privileged whose right to adequate food has been violated or needs 
protection; 
 
e. Establish a continuing program of research, education and information to 
enhance respect for the primacy of the right to adequate food; 
 
f. Recommend to Congress effective measures to promote the right to adequate 
food, to harmonize existing laws affecting the right to adequate food, to ensure 
their complementation, and the availability of remedies for violations and 
compensation to victims of violations of the right to adequate food; 
 
g. Monitor the Government's compliance with its obligations in regard to the 
right to adequate food; 
 
h. Request the assistance of any department, bureau, office or agency in the 
performance of its functions; 
 
i. Appoint officers and employees in accordance with law; and 


 
j. Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law. 
 
SEC. 18. Composition. — The Commission is composed of a chairperson and two 
(2) members who must be natural-born citizens; at least thirty-five (35) years of age, 
at the time of their appointment; and must not have been candidates for any elective 
position in the elections immediately preceding their appointment. At least one (1) of 
them must be a member of the Philippine Bar. 
 
The Chairperson and members of the Commission shall not, during their tenure, 
hold any other office or employment. Neither shall they engage in the practice of any 
profession, or in the active management or control of any business which, in any-way, 
may affect the functions of their office, nor shall they be financially interested, directly 
or indirectly, in any contract with, or in any franchise or privilege granted by the 
government, any of its subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities, including 
government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries. 
 
The Chairperson and members of the Commission shall be appointed by the 
President and shall not be reappointed to another term. From among the members, 
one (1) shall serve as the chairperson and shall hold office for ten (10) years, another 
member shall be appointed as Commissioner for seven (7) years, and another shall 
be appointed Commissioner and shall serve for five (5) years, without reappointment. 
A member who shall be appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only the unexpired 
portion of the term of the predecessor. In no case shall any member be appointed or 
designated in a temporary or acting capacity. 
 
The Chairperson and members of the Commission shall receive the same 
salary, benefits, privileges and emoluments of a cabinet secretary and undersecretary, 
respectively. 
 
SEC. 19. Standards on the Amount of Food. — Within one (1) year from the 
effectivity of this Act, the Commission shall, in consultations with the DSWD, DILG, 
NNC and the DOH, issue guidelines on the minimum amount of food for persons who 
are suffering from hunger or undernourishment, or are at risk from suffering from 
hunger or undernourishment, but who cannot take care of their own needs, due to 
reasons beyond their control, including children whose parents die or disappear, or 
otherwise no longer take care of them, elderly, and persons with disabilities. The 
guidelines include: 
 
1) The exact quantity of calories, proteins and micronutrients, to which the 
minimum amount of food will correspond, according to the age, sex, health status and 
occupation of a person; 
 
2) A simple and accessible application or certification procedure for the 
minimum amount of food entitlement with transparent, fair and non-discriminatory 
eligibility or certification criteria; and 
 
3) Relief mechanisms to ensure that such individuals are provided with their 
minimum food requirement. 
 


Specific support measures shall be designed and adopted to prevent or 
compensate for disadvantages of the identified vulnerable persons or groups suffer 
from, with regard to the enjoyment of their right to adequate food. 
 
SEC. 20. Emergencies. — The Commission in coordination with the National Disaster 
Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) shall: 
  
a. Provide food emergency responses which sufficiently cover both early 
warning responses and disaster preparedness in case of a crisis; and organize and 
manage food responses efficiently and effectively; 
 
b. Ensure that food supply responses are compatible with the right to adequate 
food and international standards regulating emergencies; and 
 
c. Initiate requests for international assistance in case of necessity, and 
supervise and coordinate properly the distribution of food to intended recipients. 
 
SEC. 21. Information Dissemination. — All government agencies, under the 
direction of the Commission in coordination with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) 
and Philippine Information Agency (PIA), shall: 
 
a. Inform the population about the rights established in this Act and the 
implementing rules and regulations adopted upon its passage into law and other 
measure taken for the purpose of facilitating and promoting the realization of the right 
to adequate food; and 
 
b. Use the most appropriate ways and methods of disseminating information by 
providing information through all media forms, and in local languages, notably in the 
most marginalized areas and among populations with a high rate of illiteracy. 
 
SEC. 22. Education and Awareness Program. — The Commission, in coordination 
15 with the DepEd, CHED and TESDA, shall ensure that: 
 
a. School curriculum includes material related to food and nutrition education, 
the right to adequate food and human rights principles; and 
 
b. Relevant adult education and training programs shall include materials 
related to food and nutrition, the right to adequate food and human rights principles. 
 
SEC. 23. International Cooperation. — The Commission, in coordination with the 
CHR and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), shall: 
 
a. Ensure that activities undertaken in other countries, including those by 
private actors, do not infringe on the enjoyment of the right to adequate food by people 
in the concerned countries, in coordination with DA, DTI, DOH and NEDA and other 
relevant agencies; 
 
b. Promote international cooperation and help ensure the realization of the right 
to adequate food in other countries, if in a position to do so; and 


c. Ensure that international and other agreements which the Philippine 
Government enters into, consider the guarantee on the right to food. 
 
SEC. 24. Monitoring and Evaluation System. — There shall be an integrated 
monitoring system that shall ensure that all government agencies at all levels, under 
the supervision of the Commission on the Right to Adequate Food, shall: 
 
a. Collect data related to food and nutrition security, using monitoring 
methodologies and processes consistent with human rights principles; 
 
b. Disaggregate collected data by age, sex, income, bracket, civil status and 
ethnicity; 
 
c. Monitor progress achieved in the realization of the right to adequate food; 
and 
 
d. Establish or identify an early warning mechanism for food supply shortages 
and emergencies. 
 
SEC. 25. Representation and Participation of People's Organizations and Civil 
Society. — To guarantee public participation, the Commission shall ensure that: 
 
a. All persons can freely and meaningfully participate in all forms of public 
discourse, access information and exercise freedom of association, in relation 
to the formulation and implementation of policies pertaining to the right to 
adequate food; 
 
b. Civil society and other stakeholders actively participate in the institutions that 
oversee the realization of the right to adequate food, as well as in formulating 
capacity building mechanisms and special measures for disadvantaged groups; 
and 
 
c. National public hearings are conducted every two (2) years, at which the 
government is required to report on the progress made with the implementation 
of this Act, and the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the 
country. 
 
SEC. 26. Penal Provisions. — The penalty of imprisonment of six (6) months and 
one (1) day to six (6) years, or a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos 
(P100,000.00) but not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00), or 
both, at the discretion of the court, shall be imposed on any person who causes the 
starvation or denial of the access to food of any particular individual or group, through 
the commission of any of the following acts: 
 
a.  blockade; 
 
b. refusal to implement a food-related program; 
 
c. discrimination in implementing a food-related program; 
 


d. negligence in implementing food-related programs, resulting in death; 
 
e. obstructing access to food in time of calamity or war; 
 
f. theft, corruption or black marketeering of food being given as humanitarian 
aid, in times of calamity or war; 
 
g. distribution of expired, or unsafe food at a school feeding program or other 
feeding program, in times of calamity or war; 
 
h. contamination of food or water sources, through mining activities, aerial 
spraying of plantations, or any other similar means; and 
 
i. other analogous acts. 
 
Provided That, the penalty is imposable without prejudice to any other criminal, 
civil or administrative liability under existing laws. If the act committed is food blockade 
during armed conflict, the penalty imposable shall be without prejudice to the 
application of Republic Act No. 9851, or the "Philippine Act on Crimes against 
International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes against Humanity," and 
other relevant laws. 
 
SEC. 27. Civil and Administrative Liabilities. — The government shall ensure the 
enjoyment of the rights guaranteed in this Act and perform the duties provided for in 
this Act. Appropriate cases may be filed before the courts to compel compliance with 
the provisions of this Act. These cases shall be without prejudice to liability for 
damages and administrative liability that may be incurred. 
 
If the violator is a public official or employee, in addition to the penalty of 
imprisonment or fine or both, the accessory penalty of perpetual absolute 
disqualification to hold public office shall be imposed. 
 
SEC. 28. Appropriations. — There shall be an allocation in the annual budget 
specifically for the purposes of the implementation of the right to adequate food, in 
accordance with set by the Commission on the Right to Adequate Food. The allocation 
shall be aimed at the progressive realization of the right to adequate food over the long 
term. 
 
SEC. 29. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days from the 
effectivity of this Act, the Chairperson of the Commission shall, in coordination with the 
CHR, DA, DAR, DSWD, DOH, DTI, DPWH, NEDA, NNC and NAPC, and people’s 
organizations and human rights nongovernmental organizations, promulgate the 
necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act. 
 
SEC. 30. Rationalization Of Policies. — All existing policies, laws, decrees, 
executive orders, memorandum orders, memorandum circulars, administrative orders, 
and ordinances shall be rationalized and interpreted in a way that shall guarantee the 
realization of the right to adequate food as provided for by this Act. Cabinet secretaries 
and other executive authorities involved in the implementation of the right to adequate 
food shall report on a regular basis to the Commission on the Right to Adequate Food 


on legislative and regulatory measures that have been formulated and adopted, and 
the time frames within which they are envisaged to achieve their objectives in order to 
achieve zero hunger. 
 
SEC. 31. Separability Clause. — If any part or provision of this Act is declared 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provisions not affected thereby shall 
remain in full force and effect. 
 
SEC. 32. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, memorandum 
orders, memorandum circulars, administrative orders, ordinances, or parts thereof, 
which are inconsistent with the right to adequate food and the provisions of this Act, 
are hereby deemed repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
 
SEC. 33. Effectivity. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in 
the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved,