Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 11037)
The short title of Republic Act No. 11037 is the "Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Filipino Act."
The primary objective is to institutionalize a national feeding program to combat hunger and undernutrition among Filipino children in public day care, kindergarten, and elementary schools.
The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are the lead agencies responsible for implementing the program in public schools and day care centers, respectively.
Cycle Menu refers to standardized menus prepared by NGAs in coordination with the National Nutrition Council (NNC) and Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), contextualized according to age range, location, type of school, and cultural or religious eating preferences, with variety based on local availability.
It covers undernourished children aged three (3) to five (5) years old.
The feeding programs should provide at least one fortified meal for a period of not less than one hundred twenty (120) days in a year.
A Fortified Meal is a meal with deliberately increased essential micronutrients to improve nutritional quality, providing at least one-third of the daily calorie and protein requirements as prescribed by the NNC based on the Philippine Dietary Reference Intake (PDRI).
They coordinate with the NGAs for the incorporation of fresh milk and fresh milk-based products into the feeding programs to enhance nutritional content and support local dairy industry livelihoods.
LGUs are required to assist in the efficient implementation and may utilize a portion of their Special Education Fund (SEF) and/or 20% development fund to augment appropriations for the Program.
No, donations or bequests made to the NGAs or LGUs for the program are exempt from donor’s tax, subject to approval of in-kind donations by the concerned agencies.
To harmonize all nutrition data to identify individuals, groups, or areas with the highest hunger and undernutrition levels and to monitor the health and nutrition status of Filipino children covered by the Program.
The components include Supplemental Feeding for Day Care children, School-Based Feeding, Milk Feeding Program, Micronutrient Supplements, Health Examination, Vaccination and Deworming, Gulayan sa Paaralan (school gardens), Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene facilities, and Integrated Nutrition Education and Social Mobilization.
The NGAs are tasked to monitor, review, and assess compliance with food safety, quality, accountability, community participation, and procurement and liquidation processes standards, with an annual report submitted to the Office of the President and Congress.
It mandates the establishment of a community-based mode of procurement, liquidation, and audit specific to the Program to ensure efficiency and effectiveness, applicable only to the NGAs and LGUs implementing the Program.
The Separability Clause provides that the remainder of the law unaffected by the invalidity shall remain valid and subsisting.