Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BLL No-_63

Introduced by Representative Jaime R. Fresnedi

EXPLANATORY NOTE,

‘The Philippines is one of the many countries around the globe that still grapple with the
perils brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. And unfortunately, the fallen victims of this
crisis are children, many of those striving to study with an empty stomach.

Education and health are interrelated, The academic performance of the pupils and
instructional outcomes are determined by the quality of health of the school children
Unhealthy children cannot develop their full potential, which may result in high drop-out rates
and low academic performance.

As we anticipate the resumption of face-to-face classes, this representation proposes
this bill, which seeks to institute affordable access to school meals for Kindergarten and
Elementary students, thereby establishing a program to serve as a platform for the enhancement
of human capital and development outcomes.

Once implemented, the Free School Meals Program will aid in the development of
children, improve their nutritional status, and promote overall good health. With this policy,
we enjoin Filipino families to send their children to school with this measure, Likewise, this
also participates in the faithful discharge of our social responsibility in reducing gender and
social inequities.

This measure is anchored on the premise that improving the health condition of children
improves their learning capacity and, eventually, their academic performance. Effective
learning outcomes enable the young to aspire for a better future for their families and,
ultimately, for their country.

In view of the foregoing, the early passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

JALYE R-RBESNEDI
‘Representative
Lone District, Muntinlupa City


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

ETEENTH CONGRESS :
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. §3

Introduced by Representative Jaime R. Fresnedi

AN ACT
PROVIDING FREE SCHOOL MEALS FOR KINDERGARTEN AND ELEMENTARY
STUDENTS, ESTABLISHING FOR THIS PURPOSE THE FREE SCHOOL MEALS
PROGRAM, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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 "Free School Meals
Program Act."

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. —Itis hereby declared the policy of the State to promote
the rights of children to survival, development, and special protection with full recognition of
the nature of childhood and its special needs. In recognizing the direct correlation between
good nutrition and physical and intellectual development, the State shall promote access to
affordable and proper nutrition among school children, especially those in low-income
households. Furthermore, the State shall commit to eradicating child hunger and poverty.

Towards these ends, the State shall guarantee the access of children from low-income
households to nutritious meals in all state-run schools.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act:

a. Fortified food refers to food with deliberately increased content of essential
micronutrients, i.e., vitamins and minerals (including trace elements), irrespective of
whether or not the nutrients were originally in the food before processing, to improve
the nutritional quality of the food supply and to provide a public health benefit with
minimal risk to health;

b. Fresh milk reters to pasteurized fresh milk with limited shelf life, usually seven (7) to
ten (10) days, and requiring refrigeration:

c. Fresh milk-based food refers to food products containing fresh milk blended with
powdered milk;

d. National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) or
Listahanan refers to an information management system that identifies who and where
the poor are in the country and serves as a reference in determining potential
beneficiaries of social protection programs; and

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e. Powdered milk refers to a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk into
powder form purposely to preserve it and to have a far longer shelf life than liquid milk
due to its low moisture content.

SEC. 4. Objectives. — The Free School Meals Program shall pursue the following
objectives:

a. Ensure that proper, age-appropriate, and affordable health and nutrition programs
are accessible to school children throughout their childhood years;

b. Improve survival rates attendance in public kindergarten and elementary schools;

c. Enhance the physical, social, cognitive, psychological, and language development
of young children and support their development into teenagers physically and
intellectually capable of becoming civically-engaged youths;

d. Mitigate malnourishment among school children, thus, ensuring that they will be
adequately prepared for the formal learning system; and

e. Establish an efficient system for carly identification, prevention, referral, and
intervention of developmental disorders and disabilities in early childhood

SEC. 5. Establishment of the Free School Meals Program. ~ The Free School Meals
Program, hereinafter referred to as the Program, is hereby established as the central and
streamlined approach to provide free supplementary meals, including fresh milk-based food
products, through a program menu that shall be designed by the Department of Education
(DepEd), in partnership with the National Nutrition Council (NNC), particularly for children
studying in public kindergarten and elementary schools nationwide.

The Program shall ensure that universal access wherever possible. Still, in case of
budgetary constraints, priority shall be given to children below or near the poverty line who
are found to be undernourished.

‘The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) shall recommend streamlining all
nutrition programs benefiting school children into the Program. Other endeavors that cater to
out-of-school youth shall not be streamlined into the Program unless these encourage the same
to enter school.

SEC. 6 Implementation and Interagency Coordination. — The DepEd shall have the
primary responsibility for the administration and implementation of the Program. The
following national government agencies shall be tasked to make available such resources as
may be necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the Program and shall perform
the following tasks:

a. The Department of Agriculture (DA) shall tap farmers’ associations and cooperatives
in the locality for possible sources of food supplies. It shall share with the DepED any
available resources and facilities that may be used for the Free School Meals Program.
The DA shall support food production programs in and by public schools whenever
applicable. The DA shall assign an office responsible for managing Free Schoo! Meals
Program efforts between the DepED and the DA;

b. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall encourage the
support of local government units (LGUs) as DepEd partners in the Free School Meals

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Program operation. Barangay Nutrition Scholars and Barangay Health Workers shall
be requested to assist in Free School Meals Program programs and projects;

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) shall support the DepEd
by ensuring the availability of data on poor households based on the NHTS-PR or
Listahanan;

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the DA, the Department of Health
(DOH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shall assist the DepED look for
cost-effective sources of foodstuff, vaccines, and vitamin supplements.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the Department of
Finance (DOF), and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) shall support the DepEd
in the determination and obtaining of official development assistance sources to expand
the inputs needed in the Free School Meals Program:

The National Dairy Authority (NDA) shall support the DepEd in the procurement of
fresh milk-based food products and in coordinating with local cooperatives and dairy
corporations for the availability of milk supplies needed; and

The National Nutrition Council (NNC), in coordination with the Food and Nutrition
Research Institute (FNRI), shall provide a menu consisting of a combination of foods
that meet the recommended energy and nutrient intake of children, including
alternatives for children who are allergic to certain foods. In addition, the NNC shall
endeavor, as much as possible, to provide menu items that do not contain common
allergens.

SEC. 7. Mechanics of the Free School Meals Program. — The DepEd is hereby

mandated to oversee the following activities:

Administer the Program, in coordination with concerned government institutions, for a
minimum of one hundred twenty (120) feeding days per school year to be done five (5)
days a week with one (1) feeding activity per schoo! day;

Conduct orientation and training activities utilizing its core trainers for all DepEd health
and nutrition unit personnel at the regional and division levels to generate their support
for the Free School Meals Program's objectives and mechanics. DepEd personnel
trained at the schools’ division level shall be responsible for preparing the staff at the
district and municipal levels, while those trained at the district and municipal levels
shall be responsible for training the implementers and feeding coordinators at the school
level;

Conduct orientation meetings with parents, Parent-Teachers’ Associations (PTAs), and
pupils utilizing the DepEd feeding coordinators for proper information dissemination
on the Free School Meals Program's objectives and mechanics and, in the process,
generate stakeholders’ support and recommendations for the program;

Ensure the availability of the necessary food supplies such as (1) Fresh milk-based and
fortified foods; and (2) Vitamin supplements in such dosages and for such duration as
the DOH may determine most beneficial to the child's health and nutritional well-being;
and,

Ensure that the beneficiary school children eat their meals and drink their milk inside

the classroom only,



SEC. 8. Procurement, Storage, and Handling System. — The procurement, storage, and
handling of appropriate food supplies shall be spearheaded by the DepEd, in coordination with
the NNC, the FNRI, and other concemed government agencies. In addition, the DepEd shall
seek the help of the DA in tapping the services of local farmers’ associations and cooperatives
for the procurement of locally produced food supplies and shall encourage contracts with
farmers’ associations and cooperatives in accordance with existing procurement laws.

In the procurement program, priority shall be given to the utilization of locally
produced fresh milk and locally available food supplies, utilizing the Gulayan sa Paaralan
Project (GPP) products to increase food supplies at the local level. The DepEd shall issue the
guidelines to implement the procurement, storage, and handling system effectively.

The DepEd shall also seek the compensated assistance of residents trained by the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in food preparation,
handling, and storage.

SEC. 9. LGU Prioritization, ~ In case of a shortage of funds, priority in implementing
the Free School Meals Program shall be given to municipalities and cities, which are
determined and identified by the NNC, and validated by the Philippine Statistics Authority
(PSA), to have high malnutrition rates.

SEC. 10. LGU Participation. ~The Secretary of Education shall initiate partnerships
with LGU officials to encourage them to contribute available resources to the feeding program
in public schools within the LGUs’ respective areas of jurisdiction.

SEC. 11. Amendment to the Allocation of the Special Education Fund (SEF). — To
allow LGUs to participate in the Free School Meals Program, Section 272 of Republic Act No.
7185, otherwise known as the Local Government Code, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Section 272. Application of Proceeds of the Additional One Percent SEF
Tax. - The proceeds from the additional one percent (1%) tax on real property
accruing to the Special Education Fund (SEF) shall be automatically released
to the local school boards: Provided, That, in case of provinces, the proceeds
shall be divided equally between the provincial and municipal schoo! boards:
Provided, however, That the proceeds shall be allocated for the operation and
maintenance of public schools, construction and repair of school buildings,
facilities and equipment, educational research, purchase of books and
periodicals, SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL NUTRITION PROGRAMS, and
sports development as determined and approved by the Local School Board.”

SEC. 12. Tax Deductibility Donation. - Any donation or bequest made to the DepEd
for the Free School Meals Program shall be considered an allowable deduction from the gross
income of the donor, in accordance with the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code
of 1997, as amended: Provided, That the donation is duly approved by the Secretary of
Education upon the recommendation of the Executive Director of the NNC in case of food
products, and the Secretary of Health, in case of vaccine and vitamin products.

SEC. 13. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to cover the initial implementation
of this Act shall be charged against the appropriation of the DepED for school-based feeding
programs under the current General Appropriations Act. Thereafter, such sums as may be

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necessary for the continued implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act.

SEC. 14, Implementing Rules and Regulations, - Within one hundred and twenty (120)
days from the approval of this Act, the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the heads
of other participating government agencies, shall formulate the rules and regulations
implementing the provisions of this Act. The implementing rules and regulations issued
pursuant to this section shall take effect thirty (30) days after publication in two (2) national
newspapers of general circulation

SEC. 15. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the other provisions not so declared shall remain in force and effect.

SEC. 16. Repealing Clause. ~ All laws, decrees, orders and rules, and regulations
contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or amended
accordingly.

SEC. 17. Effectivity: — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved