The House of Representatives is not yet done with boosting some government agencies’ budgets as it has earmarked another for the Department of Education and the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s child feeding programs totaling P10.89 billion.
The boosted budget allocation was a 45.5percent bump from P7.48 billion last year.
With an increase of P2.37 billion from 2022’s national budget, DepEd’s “School-Based Feeding Program” increased to P5.69 billion, up from P3.32 billion last year.
The SBFP of DepEd provides nutritious food products and pasteurized or sterilized milk to undernourished students to combat hunger, contribute to nutritional status and improve their academic performance in accordance with Republic Act 11037, or the “Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act,” signed by then-President Rodrigo Duterte on 20 June 2018.
DepEd said in its budget presentation to Congress that the funds allotted will benefit 1.7 million students.
The DSWD, on the other hand, will receive P5.2 billion for its “Supplemental Feeding Program,” up from P4.16 billion last year and it can feed 1,754,637 children aged two to five in community and neighborhood sites.
DSWD’s feeding program provides food and regular meals to children currently enrolled in the daycare centers as part of the agency’s contribution to the Early Childhood Care and Development program of the government.
In a December 2022 survey conducted by pollster SWS, the Philippines’ hunger rate increased slightly to 11.8 percent from 11.3 percent in June 2022, affecting approximately three million Filipino families.