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 
Across the globe, up to 828 million people do not have enough food and 50 million 
people are facing emergency levels of hunger.1 Food insecurity is mainly a problem of 
access rather than production, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.2 
Developing countries such as the Philippines suffer more food losses during 
agricultural production3 than from consumption—meaning we waste food being 
produced in the country even before it hits the plates of the people.  
In our country alone, 1,717 metric tons of food is wasted each day, according to the 
Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology. 
Likewise, the International Rice Research Institute said P23 million worth of rice is 
wasted daily, enough to feed 4.3 million individuals. If this food wastage issue will not 
be properly addressed, food supply and insecurity will continue to be a major problem. 
This legislation hopes to end food wastage and food insecurity in the country through 
a National Zero Food Waste Campaign that intends to educate on the current food 
waste situation and inform ways in reducing food wastes through the creation of 
national and local food waste prevention programs. In addressing the losses from 
production, this bill encourages households and local government units to recycle 
inedible food waste into fertilizers or compost. 
This measure also intends to prohibit food related businesses like restaurants and 
supermarkets from throwing away edible food and instead donate them to food banks 
and charity homes. Food establishments, in return, are given tax incentives by 
exempting them from donor’s tax and shall be considered as an allowable deduction 
from their gross income.  
1 Ending Hunger. (n.d.). World Food Programme. Retrieved July 20, 2022, from https://www.wfp.org/ending-
hunger 
2 Ibid. 
3 Domingo, R. (2016, January 2). Cost of food waste reaches $2.6T/yr, says FAO. Business.Inquirer.Net. 
Retrieved July 20, 2022, from https://business.inquirer.net/204890/cost-of-food-waste-reaches-2-6tyr-says-fao 
July 22, 2022
4:34 pm
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The “Zero Food Waste” trend has taken hold on other countries such as France, 
Japan, Germany, Spain and Sweden in helping reduce food waste in the world. 
Ethiopia came in 12th place despite being having high rates of malnutrition, owing to 
its sustainable agricultural practices and low food waste levels.4  
 
This bill, once enacted, hopes to pioneer laws, especially in developing countries such 
as the Philippines, in doing our part in ending world hunger and making food 
accessible to all as it is a vital tool for every man to enjoy his right to life.  
 
As such, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
 
 
 
 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.             MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE   
 
 
 
 
TSUYOSHI ANTHONY G. HORIBATA  
 
 
NICOLAS ENCISO VIII 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
4 McCarthy, J. (2017, December 7). France Continues to Lead the World in Ending Food Waste. 
Https://Www.Globalcitizen.Org/. Retrieved July 20, 2022, from https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/food-
waste-sustainability-agriculture-ranking/ 


3
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 
REDUCING WASTAGE BY DONATING AND RECYCLING 
EXCESS EDIBLE FOOD 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:  
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the "Food Surplus 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, quality and nutritious food. 
It is hereby declared a policy of the State to attain 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 address 
and correct and the massive amount of food surplus presents an opportunity for the 
State to address hunger and its efforts on quality of life of the underprivileged.  
Toward this end, the State shall adopt a system to promote, facilitate and ensure the 
reduction of food surplus through redistribution and recycling. The State shall likewise 
implement measures to make it mandatory to donate edible food surplus for charitable 
purposes.  
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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 human consumption based on 
the applicable standards of food quality and safety;  
b)  
Food banks refer to non-profit, charitable or other social mission-oriented 
organizations that collect donations of edible food items and distribute them 
to the food insecure;  
c)  
Food insecure refers to persons or groups of persons who have no means 
and/or have difficulty producing or purchasing food;  
d)  
Food surplus reduction refers to the decrease of food surplus through the 
redistribution of food surplus to the food insecure or the recycling of food as 
fertilizer or compost;  
e)  
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; and  
f)  
Inedible food surplus refers to food discarded in the retail and consumption 
stages, determined to be unfit for human consumption, including, 
prepackaged food products that have gone beyond their declared 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 as long as the product to be donated has no safety and 
quality issue, no untruthful information or health claims or any information 
that can mislead the consumers;  
b)   Food establishments (restaurants, cafes, diners, fast food chains or hotels); 


 
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c)  
Supermarkets with at least five hundred (500) square meters of selling 
space; and 
d)   Culinary schools which offer culinary, baking and pastry courses with at 
least fifty (50) students.  
 
SEC. 5. Determination of Food Insecure. – The criteria for the determination of a 
food insecure person or group, will be made by the Department of Social Welfare and 
Development (DSWD), in coordination with local government units (LGUS).  
 
SEC. 6. National Zero-Food Waste Campaign. – The National Nutrition Council 
(NNC), in close coordination with the DSWD, Department of 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), other concerned agencies and LGUs, shall undertake 
a National Zero-Food Waste Campaign to raise awareness on the impact of a 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;  
b) 
To facilitate distribution, food manufacturers may opt to perform the 
segregation of their products at the supermarkets that sell their products, 


 
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bearing in mind the exclusion of all physically damaged food container such 
as tainted or tarnished label which may render it unreadable, dented, 
smashed, rusted, swollen, corroded food container or any similar condition 
which may render the food unsafe. For consumer protection and 
consistency with the existing policy, any processed food for donation shall 
have at least 12 months remaining shelf-life;  
c) 
Before a donation is made, a duly trained sanitary inspector of the LGU will 
check if the edible food surplus is fit for human consumption;  
d) 
Upon determination that the edible food surplus conforms to the standard 
and policy, it will be donated to accredited food banks, as determined by 
the DSWD; and 
e) 
Food banks, in coordination with the DSWD and LGUs will distribute the 
edible food surplus to the food insecure.  
 
SEC. 8. Food-related Business Surplus 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;  
c.  
Ensure that edible food surplus is unadulterated and in good condition upon 
arrival at the food bank's distribution center; and  
d.  
Enter into a contract with waste management and recycling enterprises to 
recycle inedible food surplus.  
 
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 to food banks;  
b.  
Ensure that food businesses have entered into contracts with food banks 
and issue acceptance certificates to food businesses;  


 
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c.  
Ensure that food banks have adequate and appropriate storage for the 
edible food surplus especially the highly perishable food;  
d.  
Promote linkages between food banks and LGUs to create a community 
based food distribution system for the food insecure; and  
e.  
Create a Self-Sufficiency Program that will provide the food insecure with 
skills 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 that contains data on the amount (in tons) of inedible food 
surplus that can be recycled as raw materials for fertilizers or compost, 
livestock feed or sources of biofuel to the DA and DENR;  
b.  
Initiate a waste segregation effort per household, ensuring inedible food 
surplus are not mixed with garbage otherwise garbage found with food 
waste will not be collected;  
c.  
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, livestock feed or 
sources of biofuel; and  
e.  
Facilitate the distribution of fertilizer or compost to farms and community 
gardening associations.  
  
SEC. 11. Training of Sanitary Inspectors. – The NNC shall, in coordination with the 
University of the Philippines College of Public Health and LGUs, conduct regular 
trainings on the proper handling, collection, distribution and determination of edible 
and inedible food surplus which includes microbiology, parasitology of food 
contaminant and the standards for the classification of food quality.  
 
SEC. 12. 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.  
 


 
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Once a donation is received by the accredited food banks and/or farms, the owners 
shall be exempt from any liability or injury arising therefrom.  
 
SEC. 13. 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. 14. Penal Provisions / Penalties. – The penalty of a fine amounting to Five 
hundred thousand pesos (P500,000) shall be imposed upon any individual, private or 
public entity, who makes edible food surplus unfit for human consumption. The same 
penalty is applicable to private or public persons or entities who prevent 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  
 
One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) 
Second time offenders 
 
One million five hundred thousand pesos  
(P1,500,000.00) 
Third time offenders  
 
Two million pesos (P2,000,000.00) 
Fourth time offenders 
 
Three million pesos (P3,000,000.00) 
Fifth time offenders and up  
Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00)  
 
SEC. 15. Supervision. – The NNC, in coordination with the DSWD, shall supervise 
the enforcement and implementation of this Act.  
 
SEC. 16. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within sixty (60) days from the 
effectivity of this Act, the NNC, in coordination with DSWD, DILG, DENR, DOST, 
DepEd and DOH, shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the 
effective implementation of this Act.  
 
SEC. 17. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part hereof is held invalid, or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall 
remain valid and subsisting.  
 


 
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SEC. 18. Repealing Clause. – All other laws, presidential decrees or issuances, 
executive orders, letters of instruction, administrative orders, rules and regulations 
contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified, 
or amended accordingly.  
 
SEC. 19. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.  
 
Approved,