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RECHMEH s
Date:

sive. COT
BY: ye W

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

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS RECISTR ATION UNIT
First Regular Session BILLS AND NOE SeRQ\nel
House Bill no _ 3419 —_

Introduced by Representative Jorge “Bolet” Banal

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The late Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. once said “The very first freedom that has to
be won is freedom from hunger. When you are always concerned about where the
next meal will come from, everything else becomes irrelevant.” Before anything else,
the primary needs of every person needs to be met. At the base of development, we
must first ensure that each and every Filipino will not worry about where to get his
next meal. We, as representatives of the people, must ensure that our constituents
are taken care of and their needs are met.

Furthermore, the Philippines is a signatory and one of the first nations to ratify the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25, Section 1 of the said declaration
states that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and
well-being of himself and of his family, including food.” Therefore, the state needs to
commit to provide every Filipino access to adequate food and nutrition and to ensure
that every family has a way to raise their income above the poverty threshold

This bill creates a system for the State to combat hunger and poverty, including the
institutionalization of a National Feeding Program, the streamlining of food
procurement and food distributions systems, and the creation of a structured
demand that ensures and raises the income of the marginalized. These marginalized
sectors are mostly small-scale food producers incapable of competing with big
industry producers.

it is this policy's hope that the produce that will free Filipinos from hunger are the
same produce that free our people from poverty.

In view of the foregoing, passage of this bill is urgently sought

Jorge “Bolet” Banal
Representative, Third District of Quezon City

nedSi F 8 PRESENTATIVES



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

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

3419

House Bill no.

Introduced by Representative Jorge “Bolet” Banal

AN ACT CREATING A even OF FOOD DISTRIBUTION FOR ADDRESSING
THE NUTRITIONAL NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE PROVIDING FOR ITS
PROCUREMENT PROCESS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND
pr 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 “National Food Security Act
of 2015"

Section 2. Declaration of Policy - It is, hereby, declared a policy of the State to
develop, create, and implement a nationwide feeding program to alleviate poverty
and hunger in the country. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by
the Philippines, states everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the
health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food. Furthermore, the
Constitution states “The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the
people and instill health consciousness among them.”

Chapter!

Section 3. National Feeding program ~ There is, hereby, established a National
Feeding Program which shall aim to alleviate hunger and malnutrition for children
ages 0 ~ 13 years old. |

Section 4. Creation of a National Hunger Targeting System — The Philippine
Statistics Authority (PSA) in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) and Department of Health (DOH) shall establish a nationwide
database that identifies groups and/or individuals that have the least access to
proper nutrition. The database shall identify the most vulnerable groups and/or
individuals to be listed as beneficiaries

Section 5. Infant feeding program — The DOH, in consultation with DSWD, shail
create a system of distribution through the Barangay Health Workers of food packets
for those targeted by the system created in this Act. The said food packets shall
supplement the nutritional and dietary needs of children ages 0 - 1 year olds.

]


Section 6. Supplementary Feeding Program — The DSWD shall ensure that
children ages 2 — 5 receive the proper nutrients and diet while under their care.
Beneficiaries shall be given meals that will meet their nutritional needs. The DSWD
may consult with the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to meet the proper nutritional
and dietary needs of the children. The following shall be the beneficiaries:

a) Children 2 - 4 years old in the Supervised Neighborhood Play (SNP) Area

b) Children 3 - 4 years old enrolled in Day Care Centers (DDC); and

c) Children 5 years old not enrolled in the Department of Education (DepEd)
preschool system but enrolled in DDCs.

Section 7. Elementary Feeding School Program - The DepEd shall ensure that
students from Kindergarten to Grade 4 are given the proper meals during school
hours. Such meals should contain the proper nutritional and dietary needs of
students. The DepEd shall consult the NNC nutritional and dietary specifics.

Chapter It
Procurement

Section 8. Procurement of Produce — The Government is, hereby, mandated to
ensure that 30% or more of the supplies needed to implement the National Feeding
Program are procured from Small-Scale Producers.

Section 9. Registry of Small-Scale Producers — The DA shall keep and regularly
update a list of Small-Scale Producers. It shall use Registry for Basic Sectors in
Agriculture (RSBSA), Regional Field Office (RFO) list of beneficiaries, the Bureau of
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources's National Program for Municipal Fisherfolk
Registration (BFAR FishR) for fisherfolk, and any other list it may deem necessary to
keep the registry up to date. Furthermore, the DA is required to coordinate with the
DSWD to cross-match and compare the registry with the DSWD's National
Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) to avoid duplication
and redundancy.

Section 10. Procurement process for Small-Scale Producers — For the purposes
of this act, procurement fram Small Scale producers shall be exempted from the
procurement process as stated in Republic Act No.9184, otherwise known as the
Procurement Law. Provided, small scale producers shall undergo Negotiated
Procurement Participation under the guidelines of the Government Procurement
Polisy Board (GPPB) and speciiod under this act.

Section 11. Negotiated Procurement Participation — Small Scale Producers shall
enter a Negotiated Procurement with the government under the guidelines of the
GPPB when the following conditions are met:

a) DA Validation — certification from the DA and/or any of its tasked agency that
the individual or family is indeed included in the Registry of Small scale
farmers.

b) Produce/Product Sustainability — when participants have the ability to
continue to meet the demand for their produce or product for prolonged
periods of time, with or without government intervention



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c) Community Enrichment ~ when there is a viable means of improving the v
being of the community where the small scale farmers are situated. This
seeks to extend the benefits that may arise from the contract between the
small scale farmers and the government, The goal is to achieve positive
outcomes such as like poverty reduction, access to education, equitable
distribution and management of natural resources, climate change
adaptation/mitigation, disaster risk reduction, gender equality, disease
reduction, and job generation, among others

Section 12. Support Services for Small-Scale Producers under the Department
of Agriculture — The DA shall institute the following benefits for Small-Scale
Producers as contained in their registry

a) Training on Production, Harvesting, Procurement Process of this Act, and any
other topic the DA sees fit

b) Subsidized Farm Equipment

c) Facilities for storage and harvesting

d) Capacity Building for Small-Scale Farmer

e) Access to Crop Insurance

f) Access to credit/ow interest rates

Section 13. Support Services for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries who are Small
Scale Producers - The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) shall institute the
following benefits for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries who are Small-Scale Producers
as contained in their list of beneficiaries:

a) Training on Production, Harvesting, Procurement Process of this Act, and any
other topic the DAR sees fit

b) Subsidized Farm Equipment

©) Facilities for storage and harvesting

d) Capacity Building for Small-Scale Farmer

e) Access to Crop Insurance

f) Access to credit/low interest rates

Chapter Ill
Food Council

Section 14. National Food Security Council - A National Food Security Council
hereafter referred to as Council, is hereby created as an attached and independent
agency to the Office of the President.

Section 15. Mandate of the Council - The Council is mandated to act as the check
and balance organization for the food security system. It shall oversee the etfective
distribution, procurement, and targeting of beneficiaries as mandated in this Act. It
shall also serve as a coordinating body for the different departments involved in the
implementation of this Act

Section 16. Chairperson of the Council - The Chairperson of the Council shall be
appointed to a six year term by the President of the Philippines. No person may be
Chairperson if he has not met the following criteria


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2 a) Ten (10) years of work experience in a CSO involved in Food Security

3 b) Has no relatives, to the second degree of consanguinity, in the government
4 c) Has good moral character

5 d) No pending cases

7 Section 17. Membership of the Council - The Council shall consist of the following
8 members

10 a) Representative from the Department of Agriculture

ul b) Representative from the Department of Agrarian Reform

12 c) Representative from the Department of Social Welfare and Development
13 d) Representative from the Department of Interior and Local Government

i4 e) Representative from the Department of Education
15 f) Representative from the Department of Health

16 g) Representative from the National Nutritional Council
7 h) Representative from the Department of Science and Technology - Food and
18 Nutrition Research Institute

19 i) Four (4) Representatives from Civil Society involved in Food Security or
20 Hunger alleviation

24 }) Four (4) Representatives from Small-Scale Producers group

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23. Section 18. Representatives from Civil Society involved in Food Security or
24 Hunger Alleviation - The Representatives for for Civil Society shall be appointed by
25 the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the National Anti-
26 Poverty Commission. No Representative may be appointed or recommended if he
27 has not met the following criteria

29 a) Five (5) years of service under a Civil Society Organization involved in Food
30 Security or Hunger Alleviation

31 b) Has no position in any government agency or office

32 c) Has no relatives, to the second degree of consanguinity, in the government

33 d) Has good moral character

34 e) No pending cases

36 Section 19, Representatives from Small-Scale Producers group - The
37 Representatives for Small-Scale Producers shall be appointed by the President of
38 the Philippines upon the recommendation of the Department of Agriculture. No
39 Representative may be appointed or recommended if he has not met the following
40 criteria:

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42 a) Five (5) years as a practicing Small-Scale Producer

43 b) Has no position in any government agency or office

44 c) Has no relatives, to the second degree of consanguinity, in the government
45 d) Has good moral character

46 e) No pending cases

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48 Section 20. Appropriations — The funds needed to implement this Act shall be
49 _ included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
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Section 21. Implementing Rules and Regulations. ~ Within sixty (60) days froin
the appointment its members, the Council shall promulgate such rules and
regulations necessary for the effective implementation of this Act.

Section 22. Separability Clause. ~ If any provision of this Act is subsequently
declared invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions hereof which are not affecied
thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

Section. 23. Effectivity. ~ This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
Publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation