Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESE! ATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

15" Congress
First Regular Session

SEBILLNO._ 257

HOU!

Introduced by Rep. PRYDE HENRY A. T
JOCELYN §

EVES, Rep. GRORGE P. ARNAIZ, Rep.
-LIMKAICHONG

EXPLANATORY NOTE

It has been said that the future of our country lies in our children hence it is deem appropriate that
the government should invest sufficient resources for their holistic development. Proper nourishment of
our school children should be a primordial concern of our government in order to enhance scholastic
performance. There is a significant relationship between a child’s readiness to learn and how much
stimulation a child gets, if the child is not developmentally ready to do so, teaching will be a waste of
time and effort. It is said that health and education are the suest ways to climb the socio-economic ladder.
But we cannot achieve this vision as long as many of our children are languishing in their homes in
hunger instead of eagerly learning in school.

However, it is unfortunate that the Philippines is one of the countries where nutritional deficiences
and health problems hinder children’s progress in school. There is a general weak predisposition of
students to leam due to their poor health and nutrition and this has a serious implication as they advance
in the educational level. Our education system is besieged with educational malaise as reflected in the
elementary enrolment profile. This has haunted our education system for the longest time. Department of
Education data shows that cohort survival rate of public elementary school pupils is deteriorating every
year with a drop put rate of about 32% or even worse in the countryside. Aside from the increasing drop-
Out rate, our government has to address the mediocre performance of pupils especially in the core
disciplines of Science and Mathematics. It is a fact that the performance of our elementary school children
is deteriorating with filipino pupils ranking near the bottom among 25 countries surveyed. Indeed there is
a need to check the decline in the quality of our education or the damage would be irreversible. It will

take several generations before the nation can recover from the consequences of a poorly educated
citizenry.

This bill provides for a nationwide schooi-feeding program, which is intended to address the
problem of malnutrition, declining scholastic performance and low cohort survival rate among school

children. It is intent of the bill to make this feeding program a community based program to ensure its
sustainability.

For the foregoing reasons, passage of the proposed measures is earnestly requested.

PRYDE EI A. TEVES GEORGE P. ARNAIZ JOCELYN SY-LIMKAICHONG
3" disyfct, Briental Negros 2" district, Oriental Negros 3" district, Oriental Negros


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Philippines

Fifteenth (15th) Congress
First Regular Session

House Bill No,

Introduced by Rep. GEORGE P. ARNAIZ, Rep. PRYDE HENRY A. TEVES,
Rep. JOCELYN SY-LIMKAICHONG, Rep. ORLANDO B. FUA

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A NATIONWIDE SCHOOL FEEDING
PROGRAM AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title. This Act shall be known as the “National School Feeding
Program of the Philippines”.

SECTION 2. Statement of policy. It is hereby declared a policy of the State to
promote and strengthen proper nutrition among schoolchildren in order to safeguard
them from ill effects of malnutrition. There is a direct correlation between good
nutrition and propensity of the child «o develop into a physically and mentally healthy
individual,

It is also declared a policy of the state to encourage domestic
consumption of agricultural products and other nutritious food in order to effectively
meet the nutritional requirements of children.

SECTION 3. The Program. A Nationwide School Feeding Program (referred
to as the Program) is hereby established, where the National Nutrition Council (NNC)
and the Department of Education (DepEd) in coordination with the Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Agriculture (DA)
shall initiate, maintain and expand a system of rice and legumes supplements 10
public elementary school children for a minimum of one-hundred-twenty (120)
feeding days, five (5) times a week. The Program shall be a community-based
undertaking and shali be administered inside the classrooms. The Program likewise
aims to make parents and schoo! pupils aware of the importance of good nutrition, as

well as proper hygiene by providing relevant and user-friendly nutrition information
and education materials.



SECTION 4. Objectives of the Program. The Program shall:

a) Provide free noon meal to all public elementary school pupils;

b) Each pupil will be given lunch based on a menu determined by the NNC in
coordination with the Department of Education, ensuring that the meal meets

the required nutritional level for school pupils;

¢

The school pupils shall eat their ration;

Provided, that if a school child was absent, the school feeding coordinator in
each school shall ensure that their share for that day shall be added to their
share the next feeding day when they reported back to class;

Provided, further, that only twice the usual serving portion shall be allowed to
an absentee school child;

Provided, finally that in case of prolonged absence, the meal shall be given on
a staggered basis, doubling their share every feeding day until the school pupil
catches up with the others;

SECTION 5. Social Mobilization and Preparation. Orientation-training shall
be held among DepEd health and nutrition unit personnel at the regional and division
levels, concemed local government representatives, and the parent-teacher
associations (PTAs), in order to orient them or the Program’s objectives and
mechanics and generate support for the Program. An orientation-workshop shall be
conducted at the district and school levels for the district and school level heads,
concerned local government representatives, and Presidents of the PTAs. The output
shall be the school’s plan of action containing the roles and responsibilities of the
concerned school personnel, LGU representative, and PTA officers. Training and
orientation shall be conducted by the DepEd core of trainors, with personnel trained at
the school division level being responsibie for training the staff at the district, and
municipal level; and those trained at the municipal levei training the implementers and
feeding coordinators at the school level. The feeding coordinator shall conduct the
briefing among parents and children, including determining the baseline knowledge of
the children and their parents on nutrition through a pre-test and delineating the roles
among parents during the duration of the feeding program. Feeding paraphernalia
consisting of placemats, table napkin, spoon, fork, bowls, mugs, and drinking glasses
should be provided by the pupils.

SECTION 6. Simultaneous Examination. A simultaneous health examination
and de-worming of all school pupils shall be done before the start of the feeding
program, and shall be conducted by the respective school nurses. Children found with
ailments shall be given proper treatment or referred to hospitals. Class Advisers shall
note the progress of each pupil for the entire duration of the implementation of this
program. There should be a quarterly progress report to be submitted by each school
to the Division Superintendent.


SECTION 7.  Inter-Departmental Coordination. For the _ effective
implementation of this Act, the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education,
and Department of Interior and Local Government, through various Local
Government Units should coordinate with each other in carrying out this feeding
program. The role of each agency, among others, shall be:

a) Department of Agriculture. The Secretary of Agriculture shall provide
technical assistance and training to schools in the cultivation and preparation of
foods high in complex carbohydrates, high protein, low-fat versions commonly
used for the feeding program, to assist the schools in complying with the
nutritional requirements prescribed by the NNC in providing appropriate meals
to the school pupils.

SECTION 8. Procurement and Storage of Food Supplies. Procurement of the
food supplies shall be done by the respective Provincial governments in coordination
with the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture. Food
requirements should be sourced locally, provided that these are available in the
locality.
Provided, that the PTA shall be the direct suppliers of the food requirements. If
food requirements cannot be sourced locally, alternative sources from other
suppliers shall be made available in coordination with the Department of
Agriculture, Provided further, that the price of the food supplied shall not exceed
90% of the prevailing market price at the time of sale. The various local
government units shall be the conduit of the food supplies in coordination with the
local Parent- Teachers-and Community Association (PTCA).

SECTION 9. Utilization of food in abundance or donated. Each school
participating under the Program shall insofar as practicable, utilize its Program, foods
designated from time to time by the Secretary of Agriculture, as being in abundance,
either nationally or in the school area, or foods donated by the private entities with the
consent of the DepEd and NNC.

SECTION 10. Participation of the Local Government Unit. Local
Government Units where school districts are located shall provide a counterpart fund
of at least twenty percent (20%) of the cost incurred for the Program implemented
within their jurisdiction.

SECTION 11. Priority Areas. In case of shortage of funds, the implementation of
the Program shall first be undertaken in the province wehre malnutrition rates are
most severe, as may be determined by the NNC.

SECTION 12. Appropriations. An initial sum of One Hundred Million Pesos
(P100,000,000) is hereby appropriated for the first year of implementation of the
Program, Thereafter, all appropriations shall be taken from the annual appropriation


of the NNC. Provided, that all administrative expenses of the Program shall be
taken from the DepEd annual appropriations.

SECTION 13. Separability Clause. If any part or section of this Act is declared
unconstitutional, such declaration shall not affect the other parts or sections of this
Act.

SECTION 14. Repealing Clause. All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders,
rules and regulations inconsistent with any provisions of this Act shall be deemed
released or modified accordingly

SECTION 14. Effectivity Clause. This act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,