A BILL seeking to provide a framework to systematically eliminate hunger in the country was filed in the Senate as the hunger crisis worsens with the continued pandemic.
Senator Leila M. de Lima, who chairs the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare, and Rural Development, on Wednesday filed Senate Bill 2458, which targets a zero incidence of hunger within a 10-year period.
Every person has the right to live in conditions that enable free acquisition of food directly from natural resources, sufficient quantity and quality of food, and without risk of losing access to food, Ms. De Lima said in a statement on Thursday.
“Adequate food is not a matter of charity, but a basic human right and a prerequisite for total well-being.”
According to a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations in May this year, 16.8% or 4.8 million Filipino families nationwide have experienced hunger due to lack of food at least once in the previous three months.
Under the proposed measure, a Commission on the Right to Adequate Food will be created under the Office of the President. It will become the primary policy-making and coordinating body to guarantee full exercise of the right to adequate food.
This measure is a counterpart of House Bill 8242, which was approved on final reading at the lower chamber in February. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan