The Senate Committee on Finance has added more funds to expand the Department of Education’s School Based-Feeding Program and the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Supplementary Feeding Program, Senator Win Gatchalian said.

The School-Based Feeding Program will receive an additional P15.06 billion on top of the P13.61 billion allocated under the General Appropriations (GAB) Bill (House Bill No. 4058).

The P28.67 billion allocation, which is expected to benefit 4.8 million learners, will also allow the program to run for the 200-day duration of the entire school year. The funds will cover all Kindergarten and Grade 1 learners, while continuing support for wasted and severely wasted learners from Grades 2 to 6. 

The Supplementary Feeding Program, meanwhile, will get an additional P3.3 billion on top of the P3.32 billion under the GAB. The additional funds will expand the number of feeding days from 120 to 180, and will cover more than 1.8 million children below five years of age in Child Development Centers (CDCs). 

Photo by Mark Cayabyab / OS GATCHALIAN