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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) (~H,;t U'f U1J,~,~trdS~
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )

SENATE
S.B. No. -1J~i 1

Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Under the Constitution, it is the State policy to protect and promote the right to
health and instill health consciousness among the people.

This bill proposes a system-wide plan to implement a nutrition and health

This legislative measure also seeks to improve child attendance and survival
rates in day care centers and schools' by ensuring that adequate health and nutrition
programs are accessible to young children.

For these considerations, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

Senator
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SENATE
S.B.No. 101

Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A MANDATORY NATIONWIDE CHILD NUTRITION
PROGRAM)N ALL PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS AND BARANGAY DAY
CARE CENTERS, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

1 SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Child Nutrition
2 Law of 2013."
3
4 SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared policy of the State to
5 promote the rights of children to survival, development and special protection with
6 full recognition of the nature of childhood and its special needs, and to support the
7 nuh'itional needs of children to enhance their learning capacities in compulsory
8 basic education. To this end, the State shall institutionalize a mandatory child
9 nutrition program in all and public elementary schools and barangay day care
10 centers that' is comprehensive, integrative and sustainable on a national basis.
11
12 SEC. 3. Objectives. - The 6bjectives of the mandatory child nutrition program
13 are:
14 1. To identify the portion. of the schoolchildren population that is
15 malnourished, with characterization of feeding habits, food preparation
16 and water supply;
17 2. To achieve improved child attendance and survival rates in day care
18 centers and schools by ensuring that adequate health and nutrition

1
 1 programs are accessible to young children throughout the early childhood
2 years;
3 3. To integrate basic knowledge of good nutrition, including family nutrition
4 practices in school curricula;
5 4. To enhance the physical, social, emotional, cognitive, psychological,
6 spiritual and language development of young children;
7 5. To enhance the role of public elementary schools and barangay day care
8 centers as surrogate caregivers of children;
9 6. To facilitate the learning process through healthy body and physical
10 environment;
11 7. To ensure that young children are adequately prepared for the formal
12 learning system and that both public elementary schools and barangay
13 day care centers are responsive to the developmental needs of these
14 children; and
15 8. To establish an efficient system for early identification, prevention,
16 referral and intervention for developmental disorders and disabilities in
17 early childhood.
18
19 SEC. 4. Program Framework. - The mandatory child nutrition program shall
20 be provided for children enrolled or studying in public elementary schools and
21 barangay day care centers regardless of age. The program shall include:
22 1. Complementary feeding to ensure access to food supplements which will
23 improve nutritional status. This activity may also be used as a venue for
24 other nutrition-related activities such as micronutrient supplementation,
25 I weighing and growth monitoring, deworming of children, promotion of
26 improved 'hygiene practices including handwashing, and emergency
27 feeding during and after disasters. Health and nutrition counseling and
28 education, and treatment of severe undernutrition with ready-to-use
29 therapeutic foods may also form an integral part of this activity and health
30 personnel may be tapped as resource persons.
31 2. Dietary diversification/backyard gardening to assure availability of
32 nutritious food in the local areas. Enhancing community resources
33 accessible to local households and managed by the community will be an
34 effective strategy to address lack of nutritious food therein.
35 The accompanying benchmarks under the mandatory child nutrition
36 program shall be determined by the Department of Health in consultation with the
2
 1 Department of Education and the barangay having jurisdiction over the barangay
2 day care center or the public elementary school.
3
4 SEC. 5. Holistic Approach. - Every agency of the national and local
5 governments shall cooperate and extend full support and cooperation and make
6 available such materials, data and other resources as may be necessary to ensure the
7 successful implementation of this Act. In particular:
8 The Department of Health, in consultation with the Department of Education,
9 the Department of Agriculture and the appropriate barangay, shall review the plans,
10 programs and implementation of the school or day care complementary feeding
11 program, with the purpose of identifying:
12 1. Ways and means of increaSing the volume of complementary feeding with
13 particular attention to local food components;
14 2. Priority areas of the country where greater attention is needed in terms of
15 a higher density of undernourished school children; and
16 3. The groups of school children most likely to benefit from complementary
17 feeding.
18 The Department Social Welfare and Development shall assist in monitoring
19 the weight and health of children participating in the school complementary feeding
20 program. The Department of Agriculture and the National Food Authority shall also
21 make available warehouse, trucking and facilities.
22 The Department of Interior and Local Government shall help enlist the
23 support of local government units in the accomplishment of program objectives.
24 The National Economic and Development Authority shall assist in the
25 determination of official development assistance sources to expand the inputs into
26 the school complementary feeding program.
27 The Department of Budget and Management shall help prepare work and
28 financial plans covering the food assistance program, particularly the peso
29 counterpart requirement involved in the freight, insurance, storage and other
30 requirements for effective food handling and distribution.
31 The Department of Trade and Industry shall look for cost-effective sources for
32 components of the program, including but not limited to foodstuffs, vaccines and
33 dietary supplements.
34
35 SEC. 6. Selection of Priority Areas. - The Department of Health, in
36 consultation with the Department of Education and the Department of Social
3
 1 Welfare and Development, shall select at least five (5) regions for each year based on
2 the criteria provided herein in order to achieve a national coverage for a period of
3 three (3) years. All barangays within the selected region shall establish their
4 I respective mandatory child nutrition program within a period of six (6) months.
5 The following criteria shall be considered in the selection of priority regions:
6 1. Low level of participation of 3-5 year old population in existing day care
7 and pre-school services; and
8 2. Number of provinces and cities with high incidence of poverty, low birth
9 weight, infant and under-five (5) mortality, malnutrition, maternal mortality, low
10 participation rate in Grade I, and high drop-out rate among Grade I pupils.
11
12 SEC. 7. Self-Starting Barangays. - A self-selection alternative is available for
13 barangays not selected as priority site for a given year but which can afford to
14 institutionalize a mandatory child nutrition program in its locality.
15
16 SEC. 8. Funds for the Mandatory Child Nutrition Program. - The funds for
17 the establishment, maintenance and operation of the mandatory child nutrition
18 program shall be appropriated from the following sources:
19 1. Ten percent (10%) of the recorded income of the general fund accruing
20 from interest on deposit accounts and performance bonds and any forfeited
21 amounts therefrom. Performance bonds and deposits filed or posted by private
22 persons or entities with agencies of the government shall be deposited with an
23 authorized government depository bank as trust liabilities and under the name of
24 the agency concerned.
25 2. Ten percent (10%) of the total amount specifically identified a~d authorized
26 intelligence and confidential funds as provided for in the budgets of departments,
27 bureaus, offices or agencies of the national government, which shall be prorated
28 among them.
I
29 3. Fifteen percent (15%) of the total amount automatically appropriated for
3d debt service compounding both interest payment and principal amortization
31 thereon.
32
33 SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations
34 and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the prOVisions of
35 this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
36
4
1 SEC. 10. Separability Clause. - In the event that any provision of this Act is
2 declared unconstitutional, the validity of the other provisions shall not be affected
3 by such declaration.
4
5 SEC. 11. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its
6 publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
7
8 Approved,