Kiko pushes for free breakfast for preschool to Grade 12 students

Former Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Wednesday vowed to push for a free breakfast program for preschool to Grade 12 students and require schools to purchase from local farmers and fisherfolk.

Pangilinan, who is seeking a Senate comeback, made the proposal during his campaign stop in Nueva Ecija, known as the rice granary of the country.

“Libreng almusal mula daycare center hanggang Grade 12 dapat libre ang almusal para hindi nagugutom ang ating mga anak at masustansya ang kanilang mga pagkain. Sila ay makikinabang, makikinabang din ang ating mga magulang dahil hindi na pro-problemahin ang kanilang kakainin tuwing papasok ang mga anak,” Pangilinan said.

(What I want is free breakfast for students in the daycare centers until Grade 12, so students won’t go hungry and get proper nutrition. This benefits the students and the parents as well because they won’t have to worry about providing breakfast for their children.)

“Ilalagay natin sa panukalang batas na kalahati nung binibiling pagkain nung eskwelahan ay dapat binibili sa magsasaka at mangingisda sa lokal (na pamahalaan) para madagdagan na naman ang kita ng ating magsasaka at mangingisda,” Pangilinan added.

(I will file a bill that mandates that the school should buy 50% of the food for the free breakfast program from the local farmers and fishers to increase their earnings.)

Pangilinan said these measures should address the concerning revelation based on 2022 Philippine Statistics Authority’s records, which are the latest figures, that over three million Filipino children under five years old are stunted and over one million are wasted.

The state-run Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) also reported that one in three Filipino children aged six to 12 suffer from malnutrition.

“Walang batang dapat mag-aral ng gutom. Sa libreng almusal, binibigyan natin sila ng pagkakataon na magtagumpay,” the former food security secretary said.

(No student should go to school hungry. With free breakfast, we give them a chance to succeed.)

“Poor nutrition can affect a child’s cognitive development, attention span, and energy levels. Hindi sapat ang pangarap lang, kailangan din nila ng lakas. Ang gutom ay kalaban ng edukasyon,” Pangilinan added.

(We cannot just stop on dreams. They need strength. Hunger is the enemy of education.)

Panglinan said that the funding for his proposed free breakfast for students in basic education will be sourced from existing government feeding and poverty alleviation programs, as well as through partnering with the private sector and non-government organizations.

Also on Wednesday, former Senator Bam Aquino pushed for an increased government budget to provide for laboratory expenses and free related learning experience (RLE) for nursing students.

“I am pushing for this measure to lighten the load of our students. We can include RLE to be a part of the scholarship programs because right now, it is not included,” Aquino said during a campaign stop in Cebu, the most vote-rich province in the country with over 3.4 million registered voters.

Aquino, one of the authors of the Free College Education law, then said that the government subsidy for RLE should mandate nurses to work in Philippine hospitals to address the country’s lack of nurses.

Likewise, Aquino said RLE’s implementation should be feasible and humane given that it is being cited as one of the reasons why students drop out.—Llanesca Panti/LDF, GMA Integrated News

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