No one should go hungry

Food is the most basic need, second perhaps only to water; and when I see that figure – 2.4 million households – I feel a profound disquiet that makes me more determined to work.

In last Thursday’s Social Weather Stations survey, it was revealed that the number of Filipinos who experienced “involuntary hunger” declined during the last quarter of 2018.Involuntary hunger is defined as involuntary suffering due to food scarcity. Based on the results of the survey, around 2.4 million households, or 10.5 percent of the total Philippine population, said they experienced involuntary hunger at least once in the past three months.

This figure, which is 2.8 percent lower than the previous year’s 13.3 percent mark for the same period, is the lowest since 2003.

The Palace welcomed this development, saying the President has been working day-in and day-out to fulfill his campaign promise of uplifting more Filipinos out of poverty and giving them a more comfortable and prosperous life before his term ends in 2022.I, too, welcomed the results of this survey, because it shows that despite never-ending criticism, this administration is doing something right.

But while we celebrate this little victory, the above-mentioned figure is still a large number we need to consider. Although it is the lowest percentage of hungry citizens in over a decade, that’s still millions of Filipinos who went hungry in the last few months.

Moreover, a report released by the State of Food Security and Nutrition (SOFI) in the World in 2017 showed that one in every 10 Filipinos are undernourished. Undernourishment, per the SOFI report, is caused by lack of adequate food or extreme hunger.

I know our country is doing its best to catch up with the developed countries and for many of our citizens, the pressing concerns are in the direction of faster Internet and shorter commutes. I am not saying those concerns are not important. In fact, I have ideas about how to address those concerns, too.

However, food is the most basic need, second perhaps only to water; and when I see that figure – 2.4 million households – I feel a profound disquiet that makes me more determined to work. There is so much that needs – and can! – be done to address food scarcity and hunger in the country.

As of now, there is no Philippine law that comprehensively addresses the right to adequate food. This must change, as the 1987 Constitution guarantees the right to life, and the right to life includes having a quality of life where our basic needs are met.

There are scattered provisions in several laws that touch on aspects of the right to adequate food (e.g. Republic Act 7607 empowers smallholder farmers so that more food is produced), but the framework these laws produced is broken and disorganized.

This is why I filed House Bill 256 when I was in Congress, hoping to reorganize and streamline the process of ensuring enough food is produced and distributed to all Filipinos so that no one goes hungry. I am proud to say that this bill was passed by the House of Representatives as House Bill 7193, formally called The Right to Adequate Food Framework Act, but more easily referred to as The Zero Hunger Bill.

Our goal under this bill was to eliminate hunger in the Philippines within 10 years. First, the right to food is made a demandable right and the government is obligated to make it a priority to provide food to all Filipinos.

A commission will be created under the Office of the President to supervise the law’s implementation. The law itself will put together and harmonize all existing programs that affect the supply and provision of food.

Finally, the law will punish public officers and employees who intentionally deprive any person of food, which means that any Filipino who goes hungry because a public officer failed to do his or her job would be able to go to court and demand justice.

Our goal under this bill was to eliminate hunger in the Philippines within 10 years.

Other countries where millions go hungry have legislation in place to fight hunger, among them Brazil, Vietnam, Nepal and India. It has been observed that there was a considerable reduction of hunger incidences in these countries. I remain hopeful that the Zero Hunger Bill that the House of Representatives passed last year will be tackled and eventually passed by the Senate. Realistically, however, with only a few months remaining before we have a new Congress, I do not know whether this can be done.

For my part, if I am elected to the Senate, I vow to make the Zero Hunger Bill my number one priority. As before, I appeal to you all for help in realizing this dream. A hungry citizenry is not a healthy citizenry, and we all need to be healthy if our country hopes to progress.