By PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA — Sen. Grace Poe is pushing for initiatives that will help fight malnutrition in the country.
Poe said the government will implement a feeding program for nearly 600,000 undernourished children in public schools next year.
She also filed Senate Bill 79, which seeks to provide children in public elementary and secondary schools free lunch for five years.
Department of Education secretary Armin Luistro had assured Poe that next year’s feeding program will cover “100 percent” of its targets.
The program, which will have a budget of some P1.3 billion, will be implemented for about six months, Luistro said.
Poe also asked the Education secretary to submit a detailed program plan “to ensure (its) effective implementation.”
“Since this is the first time that we will conduct this program on a large scale, it is important to come up with a study on how we can monitor this,” she said.
About six million Filipino children are malnourished, the lady senator said in filing Senate Bill 79, citing a United Nations study.
The study also stated that 66 percent of children below 6 years old lack quality child care.
Under Poe’s bill, also known as the “Sustansya Para sa Batang Pilipino Act,” public school pupils and students shall be provided with “nutri-meals” five days a week.
The Child Nutrition Network and the departments of Education, Social Welfare and Development, and Agriculture will carry out the free-lunch program for five years, according to the bill.
“Priority must be accorded to getting quality nutrition to prevent malnutrition and diseases,” said Poe./PN
