‘Resources are dispersed, accountability is diluted, and the potential for a truly seamless, red-tape-free malnutrition program is rendered almost nil.’
THE country faces a silent crisis that claims the potential of our youth and casts a long shadow over our nation’s future.
While we often brag about our economic progress, the grim reality of hunger persists, with about 660,000 Filipinos going hungry daily and nearly 20 percent of families experiencing involuntary hunger in the last quarter.
The United Nations reveals that 51 million Filipinos faced moderate or severe food insecurity between 2021 and 2023, the third highest in Southeast Asia, after Timor-Leste and Cambodia.
This pervasive hunger inevitably leads to widespread malnutrition, especially affecting our most vulnerable children.
The Department of Health (DOH) has set an admirable, albeit ambitious, goal to halve the number of malnourished children by 2028.
Citing 2019 data from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI), the DOH said almost three out of every 10 Filipino children below five years are stunted, with 15 million stunted children by 2021.
The grand plan, while well-intentioned, is just one thread in a tangled web of efforts.
Of its P217.75-billion budget for 2025, DOH earmarked P1 billion for food, diet, and health packages, and its National Nutrition Council receives P319 million, of which P25 million is earmarked for the Dietary Supplementation Program.
A significant portion of DOH’s strategy, however, hinges on the support of local government units (LGUs), with P560 million already disbursed to 235 LGUs in 2024.
While seemingly empowering, this decentralization is fraught with peril.
A dismal 70 percent rollout rate of malnutrition programs by LGUs is a telltale sign of the susceptibility to politics and possible corruption – common ailments when national initiatives are filtered through local bureaucracies.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) carries the same mandate of leading programs for undernourished children aged three to five.
The DSWD commands a hefty P5.2 billion for its feeding programs, alongside a share in the P2.4 billion Philippine Multisectoral Nutrition Program. Moreover, its Food Stamp Program has a budget of P1.9 billion to provide cash assistance to poorest households.
Like the DOH, the DSWD places its faith in LGUs for implementation.
Adding to this complex stew is the Department of Education (DepEd), which spearheads a nationwide feeding program for public schools under Republic Act 1103, also known as “Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act.”
Even the Department of the Interior and Local Government runs its own malnutrition program.
We are witnessing a governmental version of a dysfunctional restaurant, where too many cooks are in the national kitchen, each with their own recipe for malnutrition, while LGU leaders act as disengaged cashiers or waiters.
This fragmented, multi-agency approach could be fundamentally problematic.
While the intent of each department is undoubtedly noble, the lack of a centralized, unified command creates inefficiencies, overlaps, and critical gaps in service delivery.
Resources are dispersed, accountability is diluted, and the potential for a truly seamless, red-tape-free malnutrition program is rendered almost nil.
To genuinely combat this problem, the government must abandon this scattershot approach.
What we urgently need is a singular and empowered entity with the authority to harmonize and rationalize the involvement of all relevant departments and agencies.
This super agency would consolidate resources, streamline operations, and ensure that every peso allocated directly translates into tangible results for hungry and malnourished Filipinos.
It’s time to stop serving up a confusing buffet of uncoordinated efforts and instead deliver a potent, singular solution.
Simply put, too many cooks spoil the anti-malnutrition broth.
