Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan has sought the support of the Senate Committee on Basic Education to pass his proposed Libreng Almusal bill, citing the “epidemic of hunger” among school children that leads to high dropout rates.
The senator took the floor and made the manifestation during the plenary session on Wednesday, July 30, to introduce his proposed measure of providing free breakfast meals to public school students nationwide.
“This is to inform the good chairperson and our colleagues that this representation filed the bill Libreng Almusal for our grade school students, as well as daycare center students,” Pangilinan said.
“As early as now, we would like to at least seek support of the chairman of the education committee, so that we can jointly hear the Libreng Almusal bill and at the same time, marshal it,” he added.
Pangilinan underscored the need to pass his proposed legislation, pointing out the “alarming” incidence of stunting and the “epidemic of hunger” among children.
“And it is not just stunting, it also affects the ability of our children to stay in school. Dropout rates for school children without school meals can go as much as 30% compared to primary schools that have or offer a school meals program,” he furthered.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2022 data, over three million Filipino children under five years old are stunted and over one million are wasted.
The Libreng Almusal bill is the first proposed measure filed by the senator after assuming his duties in the 20th Congress.
It seeks to amend Republic Act No. 11037, or the “Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino,” by expanding its coverage to include free breakfast meals for day care to Grade 12 students in public schools.
As part of his campaign promise, along with achieving food security and lower prices of food, Pangilinan said that the Libreng Almusal program will also be aligned with his 2019 Sagip Saka Act by requiring public schools to purchase 50% of the ingredients and produce needed for the free breakfast meals from local farmers and fisherfolk.
This ensures that the proposed law would benefit public school students by providing them with fresh and locally-sourced food. It would also help empower farmers and fisherfolk by increasing their income.