Roughly eight million pupils from Kindergarten through Grade 3 would receive guaranteed meals at school under a measure that Senator Bam Aquino brought to the plenary floor on Wednesday, framing the proposal as a response to what he described as a worsening nutrition crisis among the country’s youngest learners.
The bill, Senate Bill 2272, revises the existing Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act to create a universal feeding program. Aquino delivered his sponsorship during the Senate’s special session, after the original schedule for the speech had been pushed back.
In laying out the case for the measure, the senator pointed to the scale of childhood undernutrition and what it costs the nation over time. “Currently, 26.7 percent of Filipino children under five years old are stunted,” he told the chamber, adding that the consequences fall on children who never get the chance to develop fully. “Ibig sabihin po, isa sa bawat apat na kabataan ay hindi naaabot ang kanilang tunay na potensyal (It means that one in four children fail to reach their full potential),” he said.
Department of Education enrollment records for School Year 2025-26 place more than 7.9 million pupils in the Kindergarten-to-Grade 3 bracket the program would cover. Those learners would be fed across 231 days, a figure that combines 201 regular school days with another 30 days scheduled during summer classes.
Aquino’s appearance on the floor had been set for May 11 but did not push through then, as the upheaval in Senate leadership forced a postponement of several weeks before the special session gave him the opening to proceed.
