Senator Sonny Angara wants to expand the government’s feeding program for malnourished children being implemented by public daycare centers, and kindergarten and elementary schools to cover high school students.
This national feeding program was mandated by Republic Act 11037, also called the “Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act.”
Angara said he filed a bill that would expand the coverage of the School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) to include secondary schools students to address under-nutrition among the students sector.
Angara’s measure broadens the SBFP to cover learners from Grades 7 to 12 or junior and senior high school.
The SBFP provides all the covered students with at least one fortified meal for 120 days per year.
“We included junior and senior high school students in the SBFP because they are also affected by food scarcity which is a hindrance to their learning,” Angara said.
He cited a World Bank report that for nearly 30 years, there have been almost no improvements in the prevalence of under-nutrition in the Philippines.
The report ranked the Philippines fifth among countries in the East Asia and Pacific region with the highest prevalence of stunting and among the 10 countries in the world with the highest number of stunted children.
It stated that poverty has also affected the education of many Filipino children who end up dropping out of school because of hunger.
Noting that the lack of sufficient food remains a problem among many school-aged children, Angara said this issue should be addressed immediately to remove obstacles to the development of children.
Studies have consistently shown that hu ger has a correlation to the ability of students to learn. This is on top of the still nagging issue of stunting among Filipino children, which is why we must constantly find ways to provide them with proper nutrition in all stages of development,” Angara said.
“Children who go to school hungry are inevitably placed at a disadvantage over their well-fed counterparts. We all are aware of how difficult it is to function when one is hungry and it’s no different with students when it comes to learning on an empty stomach,” he added.
Signed into law by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018, RA 11037
aims to address malnutrition among public school children.