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Battling hunger

battling hunger

A PROPOSED legislation now pending consideration in Congress reflects the Duterte administration’s genuine concern over the welfare of the country’s still “growing army of hungry Filipinos.

In fact, the Lower Chamber of Congress has approved on third and final reading House Bill (HB) No. 7956 mandating restaurants and similar establishments to donate unsold but fit to eat food items.

House Assistant Majority Leader Rep. Anthony Peter “Onyx” D. Crisologo cited the House leadership of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Majority Leader Martin G. Romualdez for the swift passage of the measure.

Crisologo is a member of the highly-influential Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), which is headed by Romualdez (president) and Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. (chairman).

A son of former Quezon City Rep. Vincent “Bingbong” Crisologo, the young Crisologo also thanked his colleagues for supporting his HB No. 4465, which was substituted by HB No. 7965.

The substitute bill calls for the implementation of a “National Zero-Food Waste Campaign” to raise awareness on the impact of food surplus and strategies to reduce wasted food.

It mandates the proper utilization of all available resources in the country by prohibiting food establishments from disposing food products that are still fit for human consumption.

Under the proposed law, local government units (LGUs) are required to enter into contracts with waste management and recycling enterprises to recycle inedible food waste into fertilizers.

According to Crisologo, a survey conducted by the prestigious Social Weather Station (SWS) showed that approximately 2.3 million Filipino families experienced hunger in the first quarter of 2019.

The figure was a percentage lower than the hunger incidence in the last quarter of 2018.

In the view of various quarters, the proposed piece of legislation will go a long way in addressing the problem of hunger in this Third World nation of more than 100 million English-speaking people.