MANILA, Philippines?Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said on Thursday he would be willing to order a review of the Department of Education?s school feeding program over allegations that the noodles being given to students were overpriced and not nutritious enough.

But Lapus said that as of Thursday, the Senate was still conducting hearings on the allegations made by Kolonwel Trading against the feeding program to which DepEd officials have been called.

?There is still another hearing. Let us wait for that [to finish] but we are prepared for a review if that is needed,? Lapus said.

DepEd Undersecretary Ted Sangil said the feeding program should be continued as it would benefit ?almost 400,000 students? in 13 provinces with serious nutritional problems.

?Almost 400,000 [students] are waiting for it. Should we postpone it just because somebody made an allegation? Isn't that unfair to the pupils?? Sangil said.

?In the first place, [the complainant] is not a bidder and the complaint was not made in the prescribed form. The allegations were not made under oath. It was only in a letter but they [the senators] picked it up,? he added.

Sangil said that the noodles were verified to contain vitamins and minerals by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) and SGS Phil., a member of Societe Generale de Surveillance, an international company which provides testing and certification services.

He said the cost of commercial noodles was P8 to P9 for a 45 to 55-gram packet. The noodles that the DepEd serves the students cost P17.86 for a 100-gram packet, good for two servings.

?Thus, the cost per serving is equivalent to P8.93,? Sangil said.

Under the feeding program, the noodles will be provided daily to pre-school and Grade I pupils for 104 feeding days this year. This represents a 30-percent increase from the previous years? 80 feeding days.

Sangil also said that it was ?unfair? to compare the commercial noodles ?which can be bought at any neighborhood store? and the noodles procured by the DepEd ?which are especially formulated to meet the nutritional needs of the learners.?

He said the noodles for the feeding program were being delivered directly to the beneficiaries and ?the cost for freight and handling to the DepEd district offices and overhead cost must also be considered.?

Most of the beneficiary schools are located on island municipalities and food-poor provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao, according to Sangil.

At the first hearing of the Senate investigation into the DepEd feeding program on Wednesday, senators learned that for the past five years, one company, Jeverps Manufacturing Corp., obtained the contract to supply the noodles.

DepEd officials told Sen. Manuel Roxas II that Jeverps was awarded six projects under the feeding program for the last five years and was paid P750 million.

DepEd officials said this was because only Jeverps participated in the bidding, an explanation that Roxas did not buy.

Roxas also said he could not get anyone to say for certain that the noodles did contain "fresh eggs," as claimed by the manufacturer.

Lawyer Chito Dimaculangan, a spokesman for Jeverps, said in a statement that "it was not the fault of Jeverps that other noodle companies chose not to participate in the bidding process."

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño has also filed a resolution in the House calling for an investigation into the DepEd?s award of the contract to supply noodles to Jeverps. With reports from Christine Avendaño and Leila B. Salaverria.