SENATOR Loren Legarda has called for stronger government action to address child malnutrition, warning that the country’s learning crisis begins long before children enter the classroom as the incidence of stunting among Filipino children continues to increase.

Citing the latest data from the Department of Science and Technology–Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), as highlighted by the Second Congressional Commission on Education, Legarda said stunting among children under five years old rose from 23.6 percent in 2023 to 25.3 percent in 2024—the first increase in the country’s stunting rate in a decade.

The senator said the figures mean that about one in every four Filipino children below five years old suffers from stunting, a condition caused by chronic undernutrition that can have long-term effects on physical growth, brain development, learning capacity, and future productivity.

Legarda noted that the problem is more prevalent in rural areas, where stunting affects 27.8 percent of children compared with 23.2 percent in urban communities.

The highest stunting rates were recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (36 percent), Zamboanga Peninsula (34.6 percent), Negros Island Region (30.9 percent), and MIMAROPA (30.3 percent).

She also cited DOST-FNRI data showing that the impact of early malnutrition extends beyond early childhood, with stunting affecting 18.9 percent of children aged five to 10 and 21.4 percent of adolescents aged 10 to 19.

“When we talk about the education crisis, we often think first of classrooms, teachers, and textbooks. But the first barrier to learning may begin even before a child enters school,” Legarda said, stressing that children deprived of adequate nutrition face lasting challenges in learning and development.

The four-term senator emphasized the importance of the first 1,000 days of a child’s life—from pregnancy until the child reaches two years old—as the most critical period for lifelong growth, learning, and development.

Legarda highlighted several measures she has authored to strengthen child nutrition and education, including Republic Act No. 11148, or the First 1,000 Days Law, which institutionalizes health and nutrition interventions for mothers and young children.

She also cited Senate Bill No. 792, or the proposed Breast Milk Banking Act, which seeks to establish a national breast milk banking strategy to provide safe donor breast milk for infants who need it.

In addition, Legarda is pushing Senate Bill No. 1853, or the proposed K to 3 Foundational Learning and Nurturing Care Act, which aims to strengthen literacy, numeracy, socio-emotional learning, and health and nutrition support for children from Kindergarten to Grade 3.

To improve access to nutritious food, the senator also authored Senate Bill No. 2051, or the proposed Local Harvest Support Act, which seeks to enable school feeding programs and hospitals to source food from local farmers and fisherfolk while establishing a National Rescue-Buy Program to help stabilize farmgate prices.

Legarda said the measure would benefit both children and agricultural communities by improving nutrition while providing better income opportunities for local food producers.

She emphasized that investments in maternal and child health, school-based nutrition, food security, and quality education are interconnected and vital to improving learning outcomes, reducing poverty, and building a healthier and more productive nation.

The senator also called for stronger collaboration among national government agencies, local government units, schools, communities, and the private sector to ensure the effective implementation of nutrition and early childhood development programs and guarantee that Filipino families benefit from the protections provided under the First 1,000 Days Law.

“No Filipino child should have hunger and poor nutrition as the first obstacle they face in life. It should never determine their future,” Legarda said.