MANILA, Philippines — Agri party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee has filed a bill seeking to expand the functions of the National Nutrition Council (NNC) and strengthen its mandate of addressing the country’s problem of malnutrition.
Lee filed House Bill No. 7586, or the proposed Nutrition Act of 2023, that would turn the council into a commission with an upgraded workforce and more resources to combat hunger and severe malnutrition.
Lee noted that since its creation in 1974, the NNC has remained a small agency made up of around 150 officials and staff in both the central and regional offices for policy-making, coordination, monitoring, and the evaluation of nutrition programs from the national down to the regional levels.
HB 7586 would tap the new commission to develop and formulate a 10-year Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition, aligned with the Philippine Development Plan, in coordination with nongovernment organizations and relevant government agencies such as the Department of Health, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Education.