QC school heads seek clarity on junk food ban

A review of the Quezon City ordinance banning junk food and sugary drinks in school canteens is under way after school administrators and teachers raised questions about some of its provisions and implementing guidelines.

Councilor Irene Belmonte, author of Ordinance No. SP 2579, on Wednesday said the city council had started reviewing the list of banned food and drinks, in response to a position paper recently submitted by three groups representing school principals and teachers in the city.

According to the groups, “the list [of banned food] provided by the City Health Department has many gray areas and [results in] confusion because of instant violations committed upon inspection.”

In particular, they noted that the ordinance supposedly banned all kinds of fried food but permitted the sale of fried lumpiang togue (bean sprouts rolls) and fried eggs.

They asked the city health department to clarify whether it was promoting zero consumption of meat, salt and fat, saying the total absence of meat would not be beneficial to health.

They also wondered what would happen to the agreements reached between some schools and fast-food chains in connection with the immersion program for senior high school students, one of the requirements for graduation.

“Will the Quezon City government provide alternatives to these restaurants?” they asked.

They also sought clarification on the procedure to be followed when inspecting schools, specifically on what would constitute an illegal search and seizure, and on rules regarding the issuance of ordinance violation receipts.

Teachers interrogated

According to them, during the June 28 inspections led by Dr. Verdades Linga of the city health department, the school canteens were treated like markets while the teachers and canteen personnel were interrogated like vendors.

Classes were also disrupted because of the inspections, they recalled.

The position paper was signed by Principals and Supervisors Associations Inc. of Quezon City (Prinsa) president Maria Noemi Moncada, Philippine Elementary Schools Principal Association president Gerry Isip, and Mabelle Caboboy of the Quezon City Public Schools Teachers Association.

The Anti-Junk Food and Sugary Drinks Ordinance of 2017 prohibits the sale and promotion of junk food, sugary drinks, and processed foods in public and private preparatory, primary and secondary schools in Quezon City.

Among the banned items are sweetened drinks, chips, biscuits with filling, fries, hotdogs and other processed meats, instant noodles and candies.