Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 616)
The purpose of Executive Order No. 616 is to create the Anti-Hunger Task Force to accelerate actions to mitigate hunger in the Philippines within six (6) months by coordinating national government agencies implementing the Accelerated Hunger-Mitigation Program (AHMP).
The Anti-Hunger Task Force was created by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through Executive Order No. 616 dated April 3, 2007.
The National Nutrition Council of the Department of Health leads the Anti-Hunger Task Force to ensure that hunger-mitigation measures are implemented properly.
The Anti-Hunger Task Force is composed of multiple agencies including the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Agriculture and its bureaus (BAI, BFAR, BPI, NFA, PCA, among others), Department of Budget and Management, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine National Police, Department of Labor and Employment, Technical Skills and Development Authority, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Transportation and Communications, National Economic and Development Authority, Office of the President, Commission on Higher Education, National Anti-Poverty Commission, Metro Manila Development Authority, People’s Credit Finance Corporation, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines/National Social Action Center.
They serve as Anti-Hunger Focal Persons tasked to fast track implementation of their agency’s hunger-mitigation programs, ensure timely disbursement of funds, monitor implementation and report progress to the President through the National Nutrition Council, provide accurate public information about their programs, and provide other assistance as needed.
The DOH-National Nutrition Council is the oversight agency for the AHMP, responsible for monitoring the implementation of the program components by agencies and reporting the progress to the President and the Cabinet.
The survey highlighted that 19% or 3.3 million families in the country suffer from involuntary hunger, underscoring the urgent need for accelerated hunger-mitigation measures.
The AHMP aims to address hunger from both the supply side (availability and sufficiency of food) and the demand side (the inability of families to buy food).
The Anti-Hunger Task Force will focus on poor and hungry households in the National Capital Region and identified priority provinces in the country, but the AHMP and the Task Force efforts cover nationwide implementation by multiple national government agencies.
The Executive Order took effect immediately upon signing, which was on April 3, 2007.