Programs vs hunger get P1 B

President Arroyo has ordered the immediate release of P1 billion for the implementation of measures to ease hunger in the country, as she cracked the whip on all the frontline agencies involved in addressing the problem.

Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde, in an interview, said the President wants immediate results.

The President met with the Cabinet level of the National Nutrition Council (NNC) last Friday and gave its members marching orders to address the high incidence of hunger in the country immediately.

Remonde admitted that the President was angry at the results of the survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations, which showed that hunger incidence remained at a record high as of February this year.

The President earlier gave the agencies’ heads six months to bring down the hunger incidence or face dire consequences, including the possibility of dismissal.

Remonde noted that Health Secretary Francisco Duque would take the lead in the campaign as the chairman of the NNC’s governing board.

He pointed out that the P500 million would go to the various programs of the government, including the school feeding program, food for work, and daycare and feeding centers.

Apart from the Department of Health, the other agencies involved include the departments of education, agriculture, and social welfare and development.

Now that the school children are still on summer break, the President instructed the officials to work with non-government organizations and parishes on how to effectively implement the programs, particularly in areas where hunger is felt most.

"The President wants immediate results and target numbers were set in specific areas," Remonde said.

Remonde said the President has become impatient and ordered the implementation of emergency hunger-mitigation projects.

He said Mrs. Arroyo told her Cabinet members that as long as there is one Filipino who is hungry, it is the responsibility of the government to make sure this is addressed.

In a roundtable discussion at Malacañang yesterday, the President said the NNC would undertake a massive information campaign, particularly among the poor.

The President reiterated her earlier statement about the spending habits of Filipinos contributing to the hunger incidence and how the NNC should teach them what food they should buy.

Mrs. Arroyo said that instead of buying liquor the people should buy food.

She also noted that the government is promoting breastfeeding in order to cut down the cost of milk formula so that more money can be used for purchasing food.

The President also lamented the decision of Congress to remove the distribution of rice in the government’s school feeding program.

Mrs. Arroyo said it was an opposition senator who decided to discard the rice program even when it was introduced by one of his colleagues, Sen. Ralph Recto.

During the deliberations of the Senate committee on finance on the P1.126-trillion national budget, committee chairman Sen. Franklin Drilon decided to change the school feeding program from rice distribution to milk and noodles so that the students themselves would actually benefit from the program.

"Ralph Recto’s idea was really correct. Because when we used to spend P20 a day for milk feeding and bread, only the child eats. But when Ralph said when you give rice P20 a day, the whole family eats," the President said.

The President said the rice program not only addressed hunger but also improved attendance in schools.

Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said the distribution of rice resumed last Monday and that this was suspended for only one month.