The House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations has approved the funding provisions of the substitute bill of the proposed Right to Adequate Food Framework Act, otherwise known as the “Zero Hunger bill.”
The committee, chaired by Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, passed the unnumbered bill after consolidating House Bill 61, 256, 1465, and 3938 during a panel meeting before Congress adjourned last Oct. 11.
Nograles and his brother, Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) party-List Rep. Jericho Nograles, are among the main authors of the bill, which seeks to guarantee Filipinos’ right to adequate food.
“We will achieve this by formulating a framework that will coordinate efforts among the concerned agencies in implementing the ‘zero hunger’ policy of the government,” Nograles said.
“The Appropriations Committee’s action on the Zero Hunger bill brings it one step closer to enactment at a time when the government is actually making gains on the problem of hunger,” he added.
The House appropriations committee chairperson said the measure underwent minor amendments, which will be presented in plenary when it is scheduled for second and third and final reading approval. It was previously passed by the House committee on human rights.
Before the Appropriations panel’s approval of the bill, Davao Rep. Nograles led a public forum at Central Luzon State University in Nueva Ecija wherein he rallied local support for making the right to adequate food a human right.
The farmers were attended by various sectors, including farmers, whom the lawmaker called the most important people in the fight against hunger.
The bill aims to attain zero hunger incidence in the country within 10 years of its enactment. Specifically, the proposed Act intends to reduce hunger incidence by 25 percent every two and a half years following enactment.
The bill also provides for the creation of the Commission on the Right to Adequate Food, which will be the primary policy-making and coordinating body to guarantee full exercise of the right to adequate food.
Incidentally, hunger incidence in the country has begun to drop in the first few months of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.
Independent pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS) earlier reported that 11.9 percent of Filipino households experienced hunger during the first quarter of 2017. This was lower than the 13.9 percent recorded in last quarter of 2016.
“Proper sustenance keeps us going. A full belly means a sound mind. The benefits of having adequate food cannot be underestimated in the purview of national progress,” Davao Rep. Nograles said.
