DILG pushes LGUs to update plans on malnutrition in line with devolution
Save the Children showcases the kind of food needed by a child aged 4 to 5 against what a minimum wage earner can afford. (File photo by MEG ADONIS / INQUIRER.net trainee)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is pushing local government units (LGUs) to update their nutrition plans to address malnourishment in line with the full devolution that will start next year.
Under Executive Order (EO) No. 138 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last June 1, devolution means that some functions and services performed by the national government will be passed on to LGUs. At the same time, LGUs will get a bigger share of tax collections to support the additional public functions.
READ: Duterte orders transfer of some national gov’t functions to LGUs
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año spoke about the issue on Friday before members of the National Nutrition Council (NNC) and local chief executives in a webinar titled “Dialogue with Local Chief Executives: Enabling Nutrition Devolution.”
Año pointed out that the increased share of taxes that LGUs would receive starting 2022 would allow them to fund more basic services, including programs for health and nutrition.
“With the onset of full devolution, pursuant to EO 138 and the Mandanas-Garcia ruling of the Supreme Court, LGUs can go beyond service delivery and assume the great responsibility of securing the nutrition of the people,” Año said.
He then encouraged LGUs to update their nutrition action plans and integrate these into their Local Development Plans and Annual Investment Programs to secure adequate funding.
Furthermore, Año urged LGUs to implement their Local Nutrition Action programs and packages and to organize or strengthen their Local Nutrition Action offices.
During the webinar panel discussion, selected governors and mayors belonging to the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) shared with each other their best practices in nutrition.
Año said that the dialogue would enable the national government and LGUs to strengthen their collaboration for the sustainability of nutrition initiatives as the country transitions to full devolution and the new normal.
“The nutritional welfare of our people, whether infants, children, adolescents, or adults will only be improved once our LGUs develop their capacity to bring together various stakeholders and come up with collectively agreeable solutions,” he said.
Año hoped that the LCEs and local functionaries were able to increase their awareness of the current state of malnutrition and learned how it could be addressed in their areas of responsibility through the sharing of the best practices of local chief executives from Quirino, Tagaytay City, Zamboanga Sibugay, and Limasawa.
Meanwhile, NNC Executive Director Azucena Dayanghirang stressed that the cost of malnutrition was very high.
“If we continue to implement the same programs and at the same level of investments for malnutrition, we will lose this battle,” she said.
“But we are hopeful that the commitments made by the Leagues in this event will create more [‘Nutrition Champions’] that will implement and sustain our advocacy which will eventually translate into increased investments and resources, and scaled up nutrition services,” she added.
The dialogue was a sequel to the “Roundtable Experience on Nutrition: Ending the Malnutrition War” that was held in May 2018 at the Manila Hotel.
On June 15, the World Bank warned that the Philippines is battling against a “silent pandemic” or childhood stunting and undernutrition, and recommended that more funds should be put in programs that combat malnutrition among the poor.
