13-year-old Ashlie Arangues beside her brother Clarke, 11, in Navotas City | via CJ Argallon

In the intricate web of worries that Filipino families face today, food is a central problem that scratches the head of parents who have to balance their limited food budget with the ever-soaring prices of commodities. Almost forgotten in this regard is the nutrition that children must receive from the food they eat.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 2023 report, the Philippines essentially fails its children in the country’s food environment. It revealed factors of inadequate diet of Filipino children such as lack of green spaces for leisure and recreation, lack of hygienic environments, and, underscoring it all, is the financial insecurity of parents.

Such data shows that these aforementioned causes are intensified by perennial issues like climate change, frequent storms, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the worldwide recession it resulted to. For a family of minimum wage earners, addressing food security in the house, while also taking into consideration the nutrients children would need to have, could present challenges.

Poverty and undernutrition

The Department of Health (DOH) reported in September 2023 that 26.7% or 1 in every 4 Filipino children are physically stunted, with the Philippines gaining a spot in the top 10 countries with the highest number of stunted children.

According to IBON Foundation, the family living wage, or the amount needed for a 5-member family to live decently, in the National Capital Region (NCR) in September 2023 is ₱1,184 per day while the minimum wage in the region only amounts to ₱610.

A 2021 study by the World Bank also revealed that poverty and financial security of families are some of the biggest causes of undernutrition among Filipino children.

This is evident in some poor communities in Metro Manila where people and children opt to eat pagpag, an essentially recycled food leftover meal gathered from restaurants and carinderias.

Despite overall inflation slowly easing to more than a year-low record last December, rice inflation rose to about 19% from November's 15%.

State actions

In response to this decades-long problem, the DOH launched the 2023-2028 Philippine Plan of Action on Nutrition (PPAN) on September 4, 2023, outlining updated government plans aligned with the administration’s goals of development along with synchronization with various local and international health institutions.

The previous PPAN results showed little effect in solving this ever-present problem in Philippine society, with little to no improvements in the statistics for stunting.

Another government intervention is the enhanced nutribun, a bread developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in fulfillment of the campaign promises of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The name refers to the United Nations program with the Philippine government aimed at alleviating Marcos Sr. induced starvation during the economic crisis caused by his corrupt dictatorship; however, the program has been co-opted by the Marcos campaign to assert it as part of the “golden era,” despite the former administration’s negative impact on the Philippine economy, which caused famine in certain regions.

The government also continues to push for “Golden Rice,” a genetically modified food that allegedly yields more Vitamin A that many of the micronutrient-deficient children lack.

“It’s really a significant step because we bring forward a very accessible solution to our country’s problem on Vitamin A deficiency that’s affecting many of our pre-school children and pregnant women," said Former DOST Secretary Fortunato De La Peña in the program’s commercial permit announcement in 2021.

However, this program has faced criticism both from farmers and activists, prompting protests and various campaigns both by local and international organizations.

According to Masipag, a group of local farmers and scientists, the Golden Rice only has negligible amounts of beta-carotene which renders its purpose of creation virtually useless.

“Already minimal, Golden Rice’s beta-carotene was also found to degrade quickly after harvesting, storing and processing, such as milling and even cooking unless the farmers vacuum-pack and refrigerate the [genetically modified] GM rice,” read a part of Masipag’s statement.

With an end to the problem nowhere in sight, Filipino parents would have to continue making do with what the volatile Philippine economy and the small dents that the government does to control it allows for them and their children to eat.