SENATOR Imee Marcos has filed a bill to amend the ‘Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act’ or Republic Act 11037.

In Senate Bill 2813, Marcos cited a UNICEF report from 2014 showing that 95 Filipino children die from malnutrition every day.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act 11037 in 2018 to combat undernutrition, establishing a National Feeding Program for undernourished children in public daycare centers and those in kindergarten through Grade 6.

The law was created to address undernutrition, recognizing the critical link between food, nutrition, and students’ capacity to learn and develop.

Currently, the National Feeding Program serves undernourished children aged 3-5 years in daycare centers, neighborhood play programs under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and public-school children in kindergarten to Grade 6 under the DepEd.

Marcos’ bill seeks to enhance the existing law by including the distribution of nutribuns in DepEd and DSWD school feeding programs. It also proposes adding nutribuns to food packs distributed by DSWD during disasters.

Marcos stressed that nutribuns are an effective and proven strategy to fight malnutrition by ensuring that children receive adequate daily nutrients.