Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No,_ 3938

Introduced by REP. KAKA BAG-AO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

It is the policy of the State, as provided in Section 9, Article II of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution, to “promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity and
independence of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide
adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an
improved quality of life for all.” Though not explicitly stated, the promotion of each person’s
right to adequate food is implied, as part of the State's mandate to break the cycle of
Poverty through the elimination of hunger, thereby improving the quality of life of each
citizen.

As a State-Party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR), the State is obliged to abide by the commitments set forth in the Covenant, which
includes the express guarantee of the right to adequate food of each individual. Article 11 of
the ICESCR provides that:

“Article 11. (1) The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of
everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his himself and his
family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous
improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps
to ensure the realization of this right, recognizing to this effect the essential
importance of international cooperation based on free consent.

(2) The States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental
right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through
international cooperation, measures, including specific programmes, which are
needed: (a) to improve methods of production, conservation and
distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge,
by disseminating knowledge of principles of nutrition and by developing or
reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient


development and utilization of natural resources; (b) Taking into account the
problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an
equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.”
(emphasis supplied)

Access to adequate and nutritious food across the country continues to be a pressing issue,
which can be thoroughly addressed through the passage of this bill. This bill establishes a
clear and comprehensive framework law that will clarify the scope of the right and institute
the principles for its proper implementation, promotion and protection, and harmonize the
already existing provisions in various laws which recognize the right to adequate food.
Hopefully, with the proposed framework in place, we would be able to eliminate hunger
progressively, reducing the incidence of hunger by 25% within two and a half years from its
enactment, by another 25% in five years, another 25% in seven years, and ultimately
achieving a zero-hunger state in ten years.

In 2015, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Hilal Elver, made the
enactment of this bill her principal recommendation during her official visit to the
Philippines. Unfortunately, the bill only reached approval at the committee level (Committee
‘on Human Rights) last 16" Congress. Hence, the prompt passage of this bill is earnestly
sought.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No.__ 3938

Introduced by REP. KAKA BAG-AO.

AN ACT
PROVIDING A FRAMEWORK FOR THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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
Framework Act of 2016.”

SEC. 2. Statement of Policy—Consistent with the principles enshrined in the 1987
Philippine Constitution, as well as the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, to which the Philippines is a State

Party, it is hereby made the declared policy of the State to guarantee the right to adequate
food.

SEC. 3. Definitions.—As used in this Act:

(a) Food is anything that is when taken into the body serves to nourish, build and
repair tissues, supply energy, or regulate body processes;

(b) Hungeris a condition in which people do not get enough food to eat to provide
the nutrients for fully productive, active and healthy living due to problems on
availability and accessibility of food. It can be acute, such as during a major


disaster when food supply channels are cut, or chronic, which means regularly
not getting enough food to conduct an active life for a long time.

(©) Right to adequate food is the right to have regular, permanent and unrestricted
access, either directly or by means of financial purchases, to quantitatively and
qualitatively adequate, sufficient and food, corresponding to the cultural
traditions of the people, to which a person belongs, and which ensure physical
and mental, individual and collective, fulfilling and dignified life, free of fear;

(d) Vulnerable groups are those who are particularly disadvantaged, These include,
but shall not be limited to, indigenous peoples, ethnic, linguistic or religious
minorities, persons with disabilities, persons living with HIV or AIDS, refugees
and internally displaced people, elderly, women and children;

(e) Food emergency is 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;

(Food blockade is an act of knowingly and willfully cutting off food supplies from
a particular area by force, either in part or totally.

SEC. 4. Normative Content—The right to adequate food is realized when every man,
woman and child, alone or in community with others, has physical and economic access at
all times to adequate food, or means for its procurement. The right to adequate food will
therefore not be interpreted in a narrow or restri

ive sense, which equates it with a
minimum package of calories, proteins and other specific nutrients. The right to adequate
food will have to be realized progressively. However, the core obligation is to take the
necessary action to mitigate and alleviate hunger, even in times of natural or other
disasters. Central to the realization of the right to adequate food is adequacy and
sustainability of food availability and access.

(a) The concept of adequacyis particularly significant in relation to the right to
adequate food since it serves to underline a number of factors which must be
taken into account in determining whether particular foods or diets that are


(b)

©

(d)

accessible, can be considered the most appropriate under given circumstances.
The notion of sustainability is intrinsically linked to the notion of adequate food or
food security, implying food being accessible for both present and future
generations. The precise meaning of adequacy is to a large extent determined by
prevailing social, economic, cultural, climatic, ecological and other conditions,
while sustainability incorporates the notion of long-term availability and
accessibility. The core content of the right to adequate food implies:

(1) The availability of food in a quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the
dietary needs of individuals, free from adverse substances, and acceptable
within a given culture; and

(2) The accessibility of such food in ways that are sustainable, and that do not
interfere with the enjoyment of other human rights.

Dietary needs imply that the diet as a whole contains a mix of nutrients for
physical and mental growth, development and maintenance, and physical activity,
that are in compliance with human physiological needs at all stages throughout
the life cycle, and according to gender and occupation. Measures therefore need
to be taken to maintain, adapt or strengthen dietary diversity and appropriate
consumption and feeding patterns, including breast-feeding, while ensuring that
changes in availability and access to food supply as a minimum do not negatively
affect dietary composition and intake.

Freedom from adverse substances sets requirements for food safety and for a
range of protective measures by both public and private means to prevent
contamination of foodstuffs through adulteration, or through bad environmental
hygiene, or inappropriate handling at different stages throughout the food chain.
Care must also be taken to identify and avoid or destroy naturally occurring
toxins.

Cultural or consumer acceptabilityimplies the need also to take into account, as
far as possible, perceived non nutrient-based values attached to food and food
consumption and informed consumer concerns regarding the nature of accessible
food supplies.


(©) Availabilty refers to the possibilities either 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.

(f) Accessibility encompasses both economic and physical accessibility:

(1) Economic accessibility implies that personal or household financial costs
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. Socially vulnerable groups such as landless persons and
other particularly impoverished segments of the population need attention
through special programs.

Q

Physical accessibility implies 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, need
special attention, and sometimes priority consideration with respect to
accessibility of food. A particular vulnerability is that of many indigenous
population groups whose access to their ancestral lands is threatened

SEC. 5. Conditions for the exercise of the right to adequate food.—Every person has
the right to live in conditions that will enable the person:

(a) Either to:
(1) Feed directly from productive land or other natural resources; or
(2) Rely on well-functioning distribution, processing and market systems; or
(3) Both;


(b) To be financially able, not only to acquire a sufficient quantity and quality of food,
but also to satisfy her or his other basic needs;

(c) To be safe from the risk of losing access to food, as a consequence of sudden
shocks, like an economic or climatic crisis, or cyclical events, such as seasonal
food insecurity;

(d) To have the opportunity of good food utilization, through access to an adequate
diet, clean water, sanitation and health care, to reach a state of nutritional well-
being, where all physiological needs are met; and

(e) To access foods or diets that are 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 to nutrition adequate for their age for growth and development.

Every woman has a right to adequate food and adequate nutrition during pregnancy and
lactation.

No limitation on the right to adequate food may be allowed, unless it is (a) provided by law,
(b) necessary for the purpose of a compelling public interest, and (c) compatible with the
nature of the right to adequate food.

SEC. 6. Freedom from hunger.—tvery 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 his or her age, sex, health
status and occupation, as provided for in Section 13 of this Act.

SEC. 7. Non-discrimination—Any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis
of race, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, 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 will be sanctioned in accordance with law.


All forms of discrimination against women with regard to the guaranteed right to adequate
004, including less favorable treatment of women for reasons of pregnancy and maternity,
will be eliminated and prevented. The equality of opportunities between men and women
will be promoted.

The prohi
past effects of discrimination against particular individuals or groups and, to promote
equality of opportunities with regard to the right to adequate food.

In of discrimination will not be read to include government action to remedy

SEC. 8. Principles.—the principles upon which the provisions of this Act are founded are:

(a) Participation - people should be able to determine their own well-being and
participate in the planning, design, monitoring and evaluation of decisions
affecting them. Individuals are able to take part in the conduct of public affairs,
including the adoption and implementation of State policies. Such participation is
active, free and meaningful, whether it is exercised directly or through
intermediary organizations representing specific interests. It is supported by
capacity-building where necessary.

(c)

Accountability — public officials are answerable to their superiors and to the people
they serve. Application of the principle of accountability in the context of the
framework law requires clear assignment of responsibilities and functions to public
authorities for implementation of the framework law and any subsequent
measures to be taken. In addition, the expected results are spelled out clearly and
appropriate procedures are established.

(©) Non-discrimination - a \evel of protection of human rights objectively and
reasonably the same for everybody, irrespective of sex, age, race, color, religion
or any other ground. In addition to specifically prohibiting discrimination on any
ground, this principle requires specific measures aimed at correcting de facto
discrimination or eliminating conditions that cause or help to perpetuate
discrimination, as well as measures promoting equality. In the context of this Act,
it means paying particular attention to those groups that cannot enjoy their rights
as fully as others.


(d) Transparency — open access by the public to timely and reliable information on
the decisions and performance of public authorities. Holders of public office are as
open as possible about all their decisions and actions that may affect the free
exercise of the right to adequate food. Applying the principle of transparency
within the context of this Act means that people are provided with essential
information about the decision-making process and those accountable and
responsible for it. People also have the power to demand information on the
processes that feed into the achievement of the particular entitlement, with an
easy and low-cost corrective check to malfeasance.

OF

‘Human dignity - absolute and inherent worth that persons have, simply because
they are human, not by virtue of any social status or a particular power. This Act
recognizes in an unequivocal form that every person has a right to adequate food.
To comply with this principle in the implementation of this Act, the State, through
its public officials, treats persons equally and respects their human worth and
dignity.

(f) Empowerment — people have power, capacities, capabilities and access needed to
change their own lives, including the power to seek from the State remedies for
violations of their human rights. This principle is the logical consequence of all the
Preceding principles. In the context of this Act, empowerment entails including
specific provisions on awareness-raising, capacity-building and right to adequate
food education.

(g) Rule of law ~ government authority is legitimately exercised only in accordance
with written, publicly disclosed and accessible laws, adopted and enforced in
conformity with established procedures. The principle is intended as a safeguard
against arbitrary use of State authority and lawless acts of both organizations and
individuals. Any implementing rules and regulations to be adopted for ensuring
the implementation of this Act will be clear, fair and accessible. The rule of law
also means that no person or body can breach the law with impunity. There is
access to justice including the right to an effective remedy for anyone whose
rights are violated, as well as the guarantee of due process in all legal
proceedings.


SEC. 9. Governmental obligations.—The State has the duty to respect, protect and fulfill
the right to adequate food.

(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 could 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 is bound to take preventive measures necessary to protect persons
whose capacity to access sufficient and adequate food or means for its
Procurement is endangered by the acts of others. It also ought to review the
relevant administrative and legislative framework ensuring that activities within
their competence undertaken by private actors do not infringe the right to
adequate food of others.

(©) Fulfil - the State has the power to facilitate the enjoyment of the right to
adequate food by adopting or pursuing appropriate policies and measures, in a
manner to foster and 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. It is equally the duty of the State to provide right to
adequate food, by adopting and putting in place measures to provide food, or
means for its procurement, to persons who cannot take care of their own needs,
due to reasons beyond their control, in particular for children whose parents die
or disappear or otherwise no longer take care of them.

SEC. 10. Targets.—The State will ensure that in two and a half years after the effectivity
of this Act, the incidence of hunger will be reduced, from the level at the time of the
passage of this Act, by twenty-five percent (25%): Provided, That five 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 years, it will be further reduced by


twenty-five (25%): Provided, finally, That in ten (10) years a zero (0) incidence of hunger
will be achieved.

The State shall also ensure that in ten (10) years, land devoted to food production will be
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 will considerably and
steadily increase, as may be determined in the implementing rules and regulations of this
Act:

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()
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Percentage of development of ancestral lands;
Percentage of rural population with access to productive resources;

Share of budget spent on programs aimed at creating access to productive
resources;
@)

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;

(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;

Percentage of population aware of available food and nutrition programs; and

Coverage of school feeding programs.

G

Periodic reviews will be undertaken to ensure compliance with set targets. In the
implementation of this Act, priority will be given to identified areas with chronically
malnourished. In measuring the incidence of hunger, the key primary data sources will
include national nutrition surveys, survey of hunger incidence in the Philippines, 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. 11, Institutional Responsibilities. — The following agencies of the government are
required to fulfil their respective mandates in a manner that will ensure full implementation
of the primary objectives of this Act:

(a) Department of Agriculture (DA);

(b) Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR);

(©) Department of Education (DepEd);

(d) Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR);

() Department of Health (DOH);

(f) Department of Justice (DOJ);

(g) Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE);

(h) Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH);

(i) Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD);

()_ Department of Science and Technology (DOST);

(k)_ Department of Trade and Industry (DTI);

(1) Commission on Human Rights (CHR);

(m) National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC);

(n) National Economic Development Authority (NEDA);

(0) National Food Authority (NFA);

(p) National Nutrition Council (NNC);

(q) Technical Education And Skills Development Authority (TESDA); and
(P) Other agencies and instrumentalities of the government whose functions are

necessary for the efficient and effective implementation of the right to adequate
food.

SEC. 12. 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, an
agency 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 with civil society organizations and use all available resources of the


government and private bodies or organizations for the efficient and effective
implementation of this Act.

The Commission shall be composed of a Chairperson and two (2) Members who must be
natural-born citizens of the Philippines and, at the time of their appointment, at least thirty-
five (35) years of age, and must not have been candidates for any elective position in the
elections immediately preceding their appointment. At least one (1) of them shall be a
member of the Philippine Bar.

The Chairperson and the Members of the Commission will 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 be affected by
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
sub-divisions, agencies, or instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled
corporations or their subsidiaries.

The Chairperson and the Members will be appointed by the President for a term of ten (10)
years, without reappointment. Appointment to any vacancy will be only for the unexpired
term of the predecessor. Of those first appointed, the Chairperson will hold office for ten
(10) years, a Commissioner for seven (7) years, and another Commissioner for five (5)
years, without reappointment. Appointment to any vacancy shall be only for the: unexpired
term of the predecessor. In no case will any Member be appointed or designated in a
temporary or acting capacity.

The Chairperson and the Members of the Commission will receive the same salary and
benefits as the Chairperson and Members, respectively, of the Constitutional Commissions,
which shall not be decreased during their term of office.

The Commission on the Right to Adequate Food will 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 for
their violation, 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 under-

Privileged whose right to adequate food has been violated or needs protection;

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:

Monitor the Government's compliance with its obligations in regard to the right to

adequate food,

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

(Perform such other duties and functions as may be provided by law.

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(h}

SEC. 13. Minimum Amount of Food—The Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) will ensure regular, reliable and timely delivery of a minimum amount
of food to any person who is suffering from hunger or under nutrition, or is at risk from
suffering from hunger or under nutrition. Implementing rules and regulations will be
adopted setting the minimum amount of food. These implementing rules and regulations will
determine 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. There will be a simple and accessible application or certification procedure for the
minimum amount of food entitlement, as provided for in the implementing rules and
regulations. There will be transparent, fair and non-discriminatory eligibility or certification
criteria.

Fair, independent and accessible recourse procedures to the Commission on the Right to
Adequate Food for complaints and appropriate remedies in case of a determined violation of
the right to adequate food, shall be established. There will also be an appropriate
monitoring and evaluation mechanism in which the Department of Social Welfare and


Development will report to the Commission on the Right to Adequate Food on a regular
basis. The annual national appropriations law shall include a specific item allocating
resources necessary for the implementation of the right to adequate food. Specific support
measures will be designed and adopted to prevent or compensate for disadvantages that
identified vulnerable persons or groups suffer from, in regard to the enjoyment of their right
fo adequate food. The Commission on the Right to Adequate Food will review proposed
support measures and, where necessary, will give further guidance, so as to ensure that all
groups are covered appropriately.

SEC. 14. Emergencies—The Commission on the Right to Adequate Food, in coordination
with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), will have the
duty to ensure that:

(a) Food emergencies cover both early warning and preparedness for a crisis, as well
as organizing and managing food response in the case of a crisis, and comply with
the right to adequate food and the relevant international standards;

(b) Emergency food responses be compatible with the right to adequate food and
international standards regulating emergencies; and

(©) Requests for international assistance be initiated in case of necessity, alongside
supervising and coordinating distribution of food response received.

SEC. 15. Information—All government agencies, under the direction of the Commission
on the Right to Adequate Food, in coordination with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) and
Philippine Information Agency (PIA), are mandated to:

(a) Inform the population about the rights established in this Act and the
implementing rules and regulations adopted upon its entry into force, as well as
about any other measure taken for the purpose of facilitating and promoting the
realization of the right to adequate food.

(b) Use the most appropriate ways and methods of disseminating information,
including by providing information in oral ways, such as rural radio, and in local


languages, notably in the most marginalized areas and among populations with a
high rate of illiteracy.

SEC. 16. Education and Awareness Raising—The Commission on the Right to
Adequate Food, in coordination with the Department of Education (DepED), Commission on
Higher Education (CHED) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA), will have the duty to ensure that:

(a) The school curriculum includes material related to food and nutrition education,
the right to adequate food, and human rights principles; and

(b) Adult education and training program, when relevant, include material related to
food and nutrition, the right to adequate food, and human rights principles.

SEC. 17. International Cooperation —The Commission on the Right to Adequate Food,
in coordination with the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Department of Foreign
Affairs (DFA), will have the duty to:

(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;

(b) Promote international cooperation and provide assistance to ensure the realization
of the right to adequate foodin other countries, if in a position to do so; and

(©) Ensure that international and other agreements which the Philippine Government
enters into, take into account the guarantee on the right to food.

SEC, 18, Monitoring and Evaluation System.—There will be an integrated monitoring system
in which all government agencies at all levels, under the supervision of the Commission on
the Right to Adequate Food, will:

(a) Collect data related to food and nutrition security, using monitoring methodologies
and processes consistent with human rights principles as established by this Act;

(b) Disaggregate collected data by age, sex, status and group;

(©) Monitor progress achieved in the realization of the right to adequate food and

(d) Establish or identify an early warning mechanism.


SEC. 19. Representation and Participation of People’s Organizations and Civil
Society—To guarantee public participation, the Commission on the Right to Adequate Food
has the duty to ensure:

(a) Free and meaningful participation, including freedom of information and freedom
of association;

(b) Capacity building, participation in the institutions overseeing the realization of the
right to adequate food and special measures for disadvantaged groups to
establish appropriate procedures and mechanisms, allowing civil society and other
concerned stakeholders to participate actively in the process of making and
implementing decisions that may affect their right to adequate food; and

(c) The conduct of national public hearings every two (2) years, at which the
Government is required to report on progress made with the implementation of
this Act, and the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the
country.

SEC. 20. Penal Provisions. The penalty of prision correccional will be imposed on any
public or private actor, who deliberately starves or denies access to food to any particular
individual or group, as through the commission of any of the following acts:

(a) Blockade;

() Refusal to implement 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,

Discrimination in implementing a food-related program;

in time of calamity or war;

(Q) Distribution of expired, or unsafe food at a school feeding program or other
feeding program, in time of calamity or war;

(h) Contamination of food or water sources, through mining activities, aerial spraying
of plantations, or any other similar means; and

@

Other analogous acts.

The penalty is imposable without prejudice to any other criminal, civil or administrative
liability under Philippine law.


SEC. 21. Civil and Administrative Liabilities—Any public officer or employee who
directly or indirectly obstructs, defeats, violates or in any manner impedes or impairs any of
a person's rights guaranteed in this framework act, will be liable to this person for damages.
Any violation of a provision of this Act, whether committed by public or private actors, will
similarly give rise to liability for damages.

It is hereby declared a ministerial duty on the part of the Government to ensure the
enjoyment of the rights guaranteed in this Act and to perform the duties embodied in it.
Appropriate cases may be filed before the courts to compel compliance with the provisions
of this Act. These cases will be without prejudice to liability for damages, as well as
administrative liability that may be incurred.

SEC. 22. Appropriations—There will be an allocation in the annual budget specific and
sufficient resources for the purposes of the implementation of the right to adequate food, in
accordance with priorities set by the Commission. The allocation will be aimed at the
progressive realization of the right to adequate food over the long term.

SEC. 23. Implementing Rules and Regulations—The Commission on the Right to
Adequate Food will issue the necessary rules and regulations to implement the provisions of
this act within sixty (60) days from its effectivity. In the formulation of these rules and
regulations, the Commission on the Right to Adequate Food will take the lead and will
coordinate with the CHR, DA, DAR, DSWD, DOH, DTI, DPWH, NEDA, and NAPC, and with
the active participation of people's organizations and human rights nongovernmental
organizations.

SEC. 24. Separability Clause—If any part or provision of this Act will be declared
unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions not affected will remain in full force and
effect.

SEC. 25. Repealing Clause—A\l laws, decrees, executive orders, memorandum orders,
memorandum circulars, administrative orders, ordinances, or their parts, which are
inconsistent with the right to adequate food and the provisions of this Act, are hereby
deemed repealed or modified accordingly.


SEC. 26. Effectivity—This Act will take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in at
least two (2) newspapers of national circulation.

Approved,