SENATOR Alan Peter Cayetano criticized the Department of Health and its Secretary, Teodoro Herbosa, for inadequate action in addressing child stunting, which ranks as one of the country’s top public health issues.

Cayetano expressed frustration over the repetitive approaches in combating stunting, which he described as ineffective.

“If we’re going to just repeat the same approaches next year, one-out-of-three sa mga bata na naman will be in danger of stunting,” he said.

While Herbosa admitted that stunting remains a critical issue, Cayetano questioned the decision to reduce the budget of the National Nutrition Council despite its severe impact on children’s health.

“If you will be permanently stunted after two years old, you will be more prone to chronic diseases from malnutrition. So that means y’ung gastos ng PhilHealth will also go up in the future,” he pointed out.

Alarmed by studies showing one in three Filipino children is stunted, Cayetano emphasized the importance of proper nutrition during the first thousand days of a child’s life. He also criticized the DOH for allocating only ₱1 billion to address this period despite its ₱300 billion total budget.

“The total budget of DOH is, more or less, ₱300 billion, and MAIP [Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients] alone is more than ₱50 billion. Given that the biggest threat is malnutrition, does it make sense that you submit a budget for ₱1 billion for the first one thousand days then ₱50 billion for MAIP? It doesn’t add up,” he said.

Cayetano warned that neglecting stunting would undermine other government interventions. “Kahit meron kang free education, kahit meron kang puhunan para sa mga gustong mag-negosyo, kung stunted ang tao, walang silbi ang interventions,” he stressed.