Pagkain Sapat Dapat - A Collective Action Strategy Towards The Development of A National Food Framework Law in The Philippines

PAGKAIN
٠ 01
SAPAT DAPAT
PHOTO
A Collective Action Strategy

Towards the Development of a
National Food Framework Law
in the Philippines
Edited by
Aurea Miclat-Teves
National Food Coalition
91 Madasalin Street, Sikatuna Village
Diliman, Quezon City
02 ٠ PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT
٠ i
PAGKAIN
SAPAT DAPAT
in the Philippines
Edited by
Aurea Miclat-Teves

ii ٠ PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT
Published by the National Food Coalition

Tel. No (02) 351-75553
Fax. No. (02) 436-3593
Copyright of Pagkain Sapat Dapat @ 2013 NFC
All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
means without the written permission of the copyright owner and
the publisher.
ISBN
Cover Artwork: Erick Palo and Mark Russel Palo

Lay-out: Ramon T. Ayco, Sr.
Set in Janson Text LT Std, pt. 12
Photos by: People’s Development Institute & www.google.com
Printed in the Philippines

٠ iii
PAGKAIN
SAPAT DAPAT
in the Philippines
iv ٠ PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT
٠ v
Table of Contents
Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
I. Introduction: A Collective Action
Strategy
Towards the Development of a National
Food Framework Law in the Philippines . . . . . . . . . . 1
by Aurea Miclat-Teves
II. Declaration of the First National Conference
on the Right to Adequate
Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
III. National Food Coalition Membership
Steering Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Member Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
IV. Proceedings of the National Conference
on the Right to Adequate Food:
A Collective Action for Policy Reform . . . . . . . . . . . 29
V. Summary Review: An Assessment of the
Philippine Legal Framework Governing
the Right to Adequate Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
by Maria Socorro Diokno
VI. Assessment of the Philippine Social
Protection Floor Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
by Bread for the World
VII. Annexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375
Annex I Compilation of news clippings
of NFC Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Annex II Voluntary Guidelines on the
Responsible Governance of Tenure
of Land, Fisheries and Forests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
vi ٠ PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT
٠ vii
Foreword
viii ٠ PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT
Foreword ٠ ix
Foreword:
I nterest in participation by the rural poor

for a collective action strategy towards the
development of a National Food Framework law in
the Philippines has been a growing concern. In fact, it
is now moving to occupy centre stage in development
debates.
This book looks into the need for the Philippines
to have a National Food Framework law and how
this need gave birth to the National Food Coalition
(NFC).
The NFC believes in total human development
grounded on the existence of adequate space for
political and economic participation, respect for the
environment, and protection of basic freedoms. This
development is rooted in the historical and current
context of Philippine society where the marginalized
sectors have suffered from economic inequality,
social injustice and environmental degradation. It
recognizes the functional and differentiated roles
of government, civil society and market institutions
and the fundamental role of government to respect,
protect and fulfill the right to adequate food and other
human rights.
The NFC envisions a cohesive and harmonious
Philippine society. It is a human rights coalition that is
the Philippines’ lead advocate for the right to adequate
food.
While the Philippines is a signatory to international
conventions on human rights, there are no existing
x ٠ PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT
instruments to ensure that the state will fulfill the
people’s right to adequate food. This book further
discusses the summary review of the assessment of
the Philippine Legal Framework governing the right
to adequate food by Miss Maria Socorro Diokno
including the assessment of the Philippine Social
Protection Floor Policies conducted by Bread for the
World.
The work on the Right to Food in the Philippines
is a collaboration of FIAN-Philippines, Peoples
Development Institute (PDI), Alternative Forum for
Research in Mindanao (AFRIM) and Philippine Human
Rights Information Center (Philrights) with Bread for
the World.
In this regard, we are grateful to the contribution
of Dr. Flavio Valente of FIAN International for his
inspirational support and dedication in providing
guidance to the NFC.
Mr. Martin Remppis of Bread for the World who
provided support and assistance in our endeavor.
To the Steering Committee, headed by Aurea
Miclat-Teves, together with Mr. Max de Mesa, Mr.
Ricardo Reyes, Ms. Nymia Simbulan and Ms. Elvira
Quintela.
I would like to acknowledge the commitment
and contribution of the resource speakers in the
development of the papers and their objective
recommendations for a collective action strategy
towards a national food framework law.
I would like to thank FIAN-Philippines and PDI
personnel for helping in all the phases of the NFC work.
Foreword ٠ xi
Finally, it is with gratitude that I would like to thank

the NFC members for starting this movement towards a
collective action strategy for policy reform.
This book is dedicated to the NFC members for their
undying service to the growth and development of the
Filipino people.
Aurea Miclat-Teves
Convenor
xii ٠ PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT
٠ 1
Introduction

in the Philippines
Introduction ٠ 3
Introduction:
A Collective Action Strategy towards the

Development of a National Food Framework Law
in the Philippines
By Aurea Miclat-Teves1
I
n the human rights framework, the right to
food stands as a basic right that makes the state
accountable to the people with regard to ensuring their
food and nutrition. As a matter of policy, the Philippine
government must aim at ensuring the Right to Adequate
Food (RTAF) of all Filipinos.
In reality, Filipinos suffer from inadequate food
primarily due to lack of access to land and other
productive resources in the country. Many Filipinos
are even displaced from their lands due to violent
armed conflicts and landgrabbing. Large agricultural
lands are also transformed for commercial or real
estate purposes.
The Need for a Legal Framework
The Philippine Constitution does not explicitly

recognize the right to adequate food and there also is no
1.
Aurea Miclat-Teves is the President of FIAN Philippines and former vice
president of FIAN International. She is the founder and executive director
of the Peoples Development Institute, an organization working on asset
reform and rural development for peasants and indigenous communities.
She is an expert on rural development work and has written extensively on
the rights-based approach to governance, specifically asset reform.
appropriate national legal framework governing the right
to adequate food.
The laws on food accessibility, availability and safety
remain insufficient in practice. The national human
rights commission has a limited mandate that is mainly
concerned with civil and political rights.
Because there is no national legal framework on
the right to food, the food programs employed by the
government remain inadequate as the government
could neither comprehensively implement nor
administer an integrated plan or program that will
address the root cause of hunger because of the
absence of an executing law on the right to adequate
food.
Hunger and extreme poverty are the most important
challenges that our national leaders need to address by
formulating a coherent legal framework on RTAF and by
crafting a national food policy.
Various national social movements and non-

government organizations have come together to
push the Government to establish a coherent legal
framework that recognizes and protects the right to
food, including the development of a national food
policy.
Such policy against hunger will ensure the
availability, accessibility and adequacy of food. From
the development stage until its implementation, the
legal framework on the right to adequate food shall
Introduction ٠ 5
have the full and active participation of relevant

stakeholders, especially those most vulnerable to
hunger.
As part of this push, civil society organizations in the
Philippines created the National Food Coalition (NFC)
in the latter part of 2012. The NFC, led by FIAN-
Philippines, is composed of over 50 organizations. It was
formed to address current shortcomings by State agencies
in fighting hunger.
The NFC brought together different actors as it
tackled issues surrounding the current state of poverty
and deprivation in relation to rural development,
environmentally sustainable growth and redistributive
justice.
The NFC was born out of the need of all sectors in
the Philippines to respond to the growing hunger and
impoverishment in the country. Its goal is to challenge the
government to integrate the various Philippine policies on
RTAF into a national framework and to develop change
strategies that will impact on economic growth and rural
development.
The NFC is the first coalition in the Philippines to
bring together people from different sectors of society
in developing a legal framework for the RTAF. There
is a need to bring different types of organizations
together because hunger can only be solved through
a simultaneous, multi-sectoral approach, answering
problems of employment, health, lack of access to
land and other resources. The NFC, with the help
of grassroots organizations, was able to identify the
problems at the ground level.
Conference on the right to adequate food
The NFC held its first national conference last February

2013 entitled “The Right to Adequate Food: A Collective
Action for Policy Reform.”2 Representatives from
different sectors participated in the conference, including:
human rights activists, rural development advocates,
pro-environmental groups, indigenous peoples, peasant
leaders, urban poor activists, and various representatives of
national government agencies and the academe.
The conference proclaimed the coalition’s
commitment to the basic and universal human right to
food. The participants expressed their determination to
claim this right for every citizen, especially children, in
the Philippines, as well as the whole world.3
It called on the government to recognize the State’s
obligation to secure the right to adequate food for its citizens. It
urged the Philippine government to draft and approve a National
Framework Law on the Right to Food in the Philippines and
ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which would then lead
to the drafting and approval thereof.4
The NFC conference urged for the full and active
participation of all actors concerned, including those
most vulnerable to hunger, in the crafting of the National
Food Framework Law.
2
Se e D ec l ar a tio n at h ttp : //www. f ia n.or g / f ile a dmin/ me dia /
p u b l i c a t i o n s/2 0 1 3 . 0 3 _ NF C _ P h ilip p in e s _De c la r a tion.pdf
3
Declaration of the First National Conference on the Right to Adequate
Food (27-28 Feb. 2013, Quezon City)
4
Ibid.
Introduction ٠ 7
The conference participants approved what should be

the main contents of the framework law as presented by
Ms. Maria Socorro Diokno. The law should have: a) a clear
Declaration of Policy; b) Specific targets or goals; c) Strategies
or methods to achieve its targets or goals; d) Institutional
Responsibility and Mechanisms; e) Avenues for Recourse;
and g) a National Mechanism for Monitoring.
The process of coming up with a national framework
law entails the NFC to use two approaches. The first
is building consensus and support for a framework law,
and second is the adoption of the law. In both approaches,
the NFC will consciously and conscientiously apply the
PANTHER principles5, backed by a thorough analysis of
the issue of hunger and poverty, using the human rights
based approach. The NFC has also mounted a campaign
around the right to food while adopting multiple strategies
in raising public awareness and preparing activities that
will generate mass participation.
Raising awareness
Coalition members have already employed collective-

action strategies even before the formal establishment of the
NFC. There was awareness-building and conscientization
and information dissemination on the RTAF. Individuals
and groups that have been conscientized on the basic
human rights principles that applied to food later joined
the NFC in realizing the right to adequate food.
5
Participation, Autonomy, Non-discrimination, Transparency, Human
dignity, Empowerment, Rule of law.
Moved by the awareness campaign, more than 300
people representing the different sectors – indigenous
peoples, peasants, urban poor, members of the academe,
individual advocates – convened at the University of the
Philippines to launch the NFC on October 15, 2012, the
eve of World Food Day. The event was initiated with
a march-demonstration by the participants calling for
adequate food for all, a cultural program, poster-making
competition on hunger, and the signing of an Open Letter
to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III. The letter
to the President contained the demands of the NFC to:
1) give central importance and support to farmers and
their concerns; 2) promote organic rice production; 3)
face and take action against damages caused by climate
change; and 4) respect, protect and fulfill the rights of
farmers and IPs.
After its launch, the NFC became active in raising
awareness on the right to adequate food. Its steering
committee began translating into Filipino several key
documents and education materials such as the Voluntary
Guidelines on the Right to Adequate Food. The NFC
also hosted local consultations around the country and
conducted problem-focused group discussions on core
RTAF issues and unified efforts to facilitate a progressive
realization of RTAF.
The results of these efforts can be seen in the
publications of the NFC such as “The Summary Review
of the Philippine Legal Framework Governing the
RTAF” and “Asserting the Human Right to Food: Local
Initiatives to Access Land and Natural Resources for
Sustainable Food Security in the Philippines.”
Introduction ٠ 9
Key documents that have been translated include the

“Selected International Human Rights Instruments:
Isinalin sa Pilipino”. Also, there is now a compilation of
the proceedings of the NFC conference.
Aside from publications, the NFC also conducted
four workshops for RTAF purposes in two of the three
major islands of the Philippines – Luzon and Mindanao.
The results of the workshops were discussed thoroughly
in the National Food Conference.
The RTAF workshops were participated in by
indigenous peoples, farmers and urban poor. These
awareness workshops discussed the issues and problems,
possible solutions and aspirations of the participants with
regards to food.
The purpose of these workshops is not only to inform
vulnerable members of society, but also to validate the
steps to be taken by the NFC in its fight against hunger.
The participants have pointed out the different
reasons for inadequate food such as lack of access to land
and productive resources, unemployment, lack of unity
among community or family members, and the problems
that result from the non-consultative nature of the
local government units in addressing the peoples’ need
for livelihood or in the implementation of government
projects. Aside from these common factors, violence and
conflict in their community, theft or robbery of food and
the wrong recipients of government programs are the
other causes of the lack of access to food.
The participants said that employment, access to
land and resources, alternative livelihood, education
for the people and transparency in the implementation
of government projects will help them achieve their
aspirations of a happy and healthy family and community
with food always on their tables.
Building public accountability
During the conference, the NFC published a

challenge to the national and local candidates in the
country’s May 13 elections on how they, as leaders and
legislators, once elected, can make food security a reality
in the Philippines.6
Senatorial bets have reacted to the recent government
survey on poverty and hunger incidence in the
country.7 One senatorial aspirant said that the current
administration can alleviate poverty by investing in
education and working with economic sectors to address
job mismatch. He said that the government should
focus on creating jobs to sustain Filipino workers and
not merely implement stop-gap measures.8 He also said
being deprived of the opportunity to earn, particularly
for those in the agriculture sector, the poor could not
afford basic goods due to high prices.9
6
“Bets challenged to take on hunger problem” by Jonathan Mayuga,
published in Business Mirror, April 25, 2013 http://businessmirror.com.
ph/index.php/news/nation/12613-bets-challenged-to-take-on-hunger-
problem
7
“Poverty data doubted, but...” by Aurea Calica, Rhodina Villanueva,
Jose Rodel Clapano, Delon Porcalla, Marvin Sy, published in
The Philippine Star, April 26, 2013 : http://www.philstar.com/
headlines/2013/04/26/935043/poverty-data-doubted-...
8
Ibid.
9
Ibid.
Introduction ٠ 11
A former senator seeking to return to the Senate

said that social inequality grows more rampant as
years progress.10 Another candidate said that making
education accessible to all, plus job generation are
keys to poverty alleviation.11
Population growth must be taken into consideration in
poverty alleviation as the number of Filipinos drastically
increased in recent years, one incumbent senator said.
Health care services and conditional cash transfer
programs should be further developed, he added.12
The responses of the candidates to the issue of hunger
and poverty are both a recognition of the urgent need to
address poverty and hunger and the timeliness of pushing
for a National Food Framework Law in accordance
with the right to adequate food in the new Philippine
Congress. The responses also show the need for capacity
building measures in promoting the RTAF not only for
the Filipino public but also for government and elected
officials who will be responsible for formulating a
national food policy.
10
Ibid.
11
Ibid
12
Ibid.
Introduction٠ 13
Deklarasyon ng
Unang Pambansang Kumperensya
sa Karapatan sa Sapat na Pagkain
Declaration of the
First National Conference
on the Right to Adequate Food
Deklarasyon ng Unang Pambansang Kumperensya ٠ 15
DEKLARASYON NG UNANG
PAMBANSANG KUMPERENSYA
SA KARAPATAN SA SAPAT NA PAGKAIN
27-28 Pebrero 2013
Quezon City, Metro Manila
(Declaration of the First National Conference

27-28 February 2013
Quezon City, Metro Manila)
M alaya kaming nagtipon ngayon – kaming galing

sa hanay ng mga magbubukid, manggagawa,
katutubo, komunidad sa lunsod, kababaihan at kabataan,
kaming mula sa Bangsa Moro at Cordillera, kaming
nabibilang sa iba’t ibang propesyon at NGO – upang itanghal
ang BATAYAN AT UNIBERSAL NA KARAPATANG
PANTAO SA SAPAT NA PAGKAIN, at pagtibayin ang
aming determinasyong makamtam ang karapatang ito sa
buhay ng bawat mamamayan at bata sa Pilipinas, gayundin
sa buong mundo.
(We gather here today – peasants, workers, urban community
residents, women and youth, from Bangsa Moro and Cordillera,
from the professions and NGOs – to proclaim our commitment
to the BASIC AND UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHT TO
FOOD, and express our determination to claim this right for
every citizen and child in our country, the Philippines, as well
as in the whole world.)
Higit kailanman sa buhay ng ating bayan at bansa, ang
karapatang ito sa sapat na pagkain at karapatang mabuhay
ay dapat itaguyod at ipaglaban hanggang ganap na
makamtan. Mga dambuhalang kapangyarihang global at
pambansa , at mga galamay nila sa lokalidad, ang walang
habas na kumakamkam ng ating lupain, katubigan, at
puhunan – mga pinagmumulan ng ating pagkain at
ikabubuhay – upang magkamal ng limpak-limpak na tubo
at pribilehiyo, kahit na kumitil pa ng maraming buhay o
alisan ng dignidad ang buhay ng nakararami, at kahit na
masira pang lalo ang ating kapaligiran, at magpabilis sa
paggunaw ang ating planeta.
(At no other time in the history of our country has it become
more imperative to fight for the right to adequate food and the
right to life. Powerful global and national forces and their
local minions have been relentlessly dispossessing us of our lands,
rivers and lakes, capital and livelihood – means to secure our
food and sustain our lives – to amass monstrous superprofits
and privileges, no matter if lives are lost or deprived of dignity,
or if the environment is further laid to waste, and our planet
pushed further toward extinction.)
Sa ilalim ng globalisasyong may tatlong sungay –
liberalisasyon, deregulasyon at pagsasapribado ng mga
kabuhayan at larangang publiko – ang bawat tagumpay
na nakakamit ng pakikibaka ng mamamayan sa karapatan
sa lupa at pangisdaan, sa pagtatanggol ng lupang ninuno,
sa pagsusulong ng karapatan at benepisyo sa paggawa, sa
pabahay, kalusugan at edukasyon, ang bawat abanse para
sa pantay na karapatan ng kababaihan at pangangalaga
sa mga bata – mga karapatang kaugnay ng karapatan sa
sapat na pagkain – ay pwersahang binabawi hanggang
mabalewa.
(Under globalization with its triad of liberalization,
deregulation and privatization, every gain our struggles
achieved in promoting land and fishery rights, defending

ancestral domain, advancing the rights to work, housing, health
and education, every step forward for equal rights to women
and the care of our children – rights that are directly connected
to the right to adequate food – are being cancelled out.)
Sa kabila nito, ang gubyerno ng Pilipinas ay
nananatiling lampa at mahina sa pagtataguyod ng
karapatan sa sapat na pagkain at sa iba pang karapatang
tao ng kanyang mamamayan. Sa halip na maninindigan,
bumibigay siya sa presyur at dikta ng mga global na
korporasyon at bangko at mga gubyernong nagpoprotekta
ng mga interes na ito.
(And yet, the Philippine government has proved to be a
weakling in promoting the right to adequate food and other
human rights of its citizens. Instead of standing up to the
pressures and dictates of global corporations and banks and
their protector governments, the Philippine government always
buckles down.)
Hindi tayo patatalo. Mula sa maliliit na tagumpay,
susulong tayo sa mas malalaking tagumpay. Paulit-ulit
nating idedeklara at igigiit, sa iba’t ibang larangan, sa iba’t
ibang paraan na:
(We shall overcome. From small victories, we shall move
to bigger ones. Without fail, we will declare and assert in every
field of struggle, in every way that:)
• Ang karapatan sa sapat na pagkain ay isang batayang
karapatan ng tao, na nasa pusod ng karapatang
mabuhay ng bawat tao.
(The right to adequate food is a basic human right,
which is at the core of the right of the human being to
life.)
Ang karapatan sa sapat na pagkain ay dugtungan
ng karapatan sa lupa, tubig, trabaho, edukasyon,
kalusugan at pabahay-- mga karapatan sa sapat at
maayos na pamumuhay
(The right to adequate food is closely intertwined with
the right to land, water, work, education, health and
housing – the right to adequate standard of living )
• Na para maisakatuparan ito, ang Estado ang may
pangunahing obligasyon na irespeto, protektahan at
isakatuparan ang mga karapatang pantaong ito
(To realize this right, the State has the principal obligation
to respect, protect and fulfill these human rights)
• Na sa paggampan ng Estado sa tungkulin nitong
progresibo o hakbang-hakbang na isakatuparan
ang mga ito, dapat nitong sundin ang PANTHER
principles – partisipasyon (participation),
pananagutan (accountability), walang diskriminasyon
( non-discrimination ), pagiging bukas (transparency),
pagsasakapangyarihan ( empowerment )at Pagpapairal
sa Batas (Rule of Law).
(For the State to perform these obligations in a
progressive and step-by-step manner, it should follow the
PANTHER principles – participation, accountability,
nondiscrimination, transparency, empowerment
and rule of law.)
Kaalinsabay, ilalaban din namin ang mga pagbabago
sa istruktura ng lipunan, ekonomiya at pulitika ng
bansa. Ito ay magbabago ng relasyon ng kapangyarihan
at magbibigay ng institusyunal na balangkas para sa
progresibong realisasyon ng karapatan sa sapat na pagkain
at kadugtong na karapatang tao.
(Meanwhile, we shall fight for structural changes in society,

the economy and politics of the nation. This will change the
power relations and will provide the institutional framework
for the progressive realization of the right to adequate food and
other human rights.)
Tungo rito, ikakampanya natin para iratipika ng
gubyerno ng Pilipinas ang Optional Protocol to the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights. Sasabayan natin ito ng pagsisikap na mabuo at
mapagtibay ng gubyerno ang isang National Framework
Law on the Right to Food.
(To this end, we shall urge the government of the
Philippines to ratify the Optional Protocol to the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This will
be accompanied by efforts to push the government to craft and
approve a National Framework Law on the Right to Food.)
Mula sa kumperensyang ito, babalik tayo sa ating
mga komunidad, sektor, organisasyon at institusyon para
magpalaganap ng ating paninindigan at magparami. Mas
marami, mas malakas, mas malapit sa tagumpay!
(From this conference, we shall return to our communities,
sectors, organizations and institutions to make known our
position and to gather supporters. The more numerous we are,
the stronger we shall be, and the closer we will be to victory!)
٠ 21
National Food Coalition Membership

NFC Membership ٠ 23
Steering Committee:
Convenor – Aurea Teves
FIAN Philippines – Ricardo Reyes
PDI – Max de Mesa
Philrights – Nymia Simbulan
AFRIM – Elvira Quintela
NFC Member Organizations
Member NGOs:
Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM)

Central Visayas Farmers Development Center
(FARDEC)
Envi - Watchers and Movers
Indigenous Peoples Apostolate (IPA)
Integrative Medicine for Alternative Healthcare Systems
(INAM) Philippines, Inc.
Kasarian-Kalayaan (SARILAYA)
Kayang-Kaya ni Misis (KKM)
Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD)
Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan
(PKKK)
Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates
(PAHRA)
Rural Poor Institute for Land and Human Rights
Services (RIGHTS)
Unified People’s Institute for Community Organization
Building (UPICOB), Inc.
United Youth of the Philippines -Women, Inc.
(UnYphil)
Pasig Libre
Member POs:
Agraryang Reporma Samahang Kababaihan (ARSK)

Barangay Anunas Farmers Association
Borac Farmers Association
Buklod ng Kaunlaran PMPC
Bukluran ng mga Katutubo sa Luzon (BUKAL)
Burac Women’s Association (BWA)
Casareal Multi-Purpose Cooperative
Casareal Women’s Organization (CWO)
Doña Josefa Women’s Association
Kapatirang Kapitbahay ng Kaybanban
KASAMAPA Federation
Kaybanban Farmers Association (KFA)
Kaybanban Women Association (KW)
Lumad sa Mindanao
Makakasibbul Tribal Association
Manganese Women’s Association
Margot Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative
Minanga Farmers Association
Nagkakaisang Kababaihan ng Pasambot (NKP)
Nagkakaisang Kababaihang Ayta ng Pinatubo
Nagkakaisang Magsasaka ng Gitnang Luzon (NMGL)
Nagkakaisang Samahang Magsasakang Kababaihan sa
Zambales
Nagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Katutubong Ayta sa
Kinaragan (NASAKA-K)
Nauzon Upland Peasant People’s Organization
Nauzon Women’s Association
Pagkakaisa ng mga Kababaihang Ayta ng Botolan
Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahang Magsasaka ng Botolan
Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahang Magsasakang Kababaihan
ng Luzon (PASAMAKA-L)
NFC Membership ٠ 25
PASAMAKA-Ayala
PASAMAKA-Sto. Rosario
Pinag-isang Lakas ng mga Katutubong Ayta sa Matalangao
at Ulingan (PILAKMU)
Pintol Women’s Association
SA3KSIMA
Sagana Mothers Club
Samahang Magkakapitbahay ng Kaybanban
(SAMABAKA), Inc.
Samahan ng mga Nagkakaisang Batilyo (SNB)
Samahang Bagong Silang ng Brgy. Buenavista
Samahang Kababaihan ng Amungan
Samahang Kababaihan ng Kabisig
Samahang Kababaihan sa Marupo
Samahang Kababaihan sa Payapat
Samahang Kababaihan sa Turda
Samahang Kabataan ng Kinaragan
Samahang Katutubo ng Masikap Kababaihan
Samahang Katutubo ng Poonbato (SKP)
Samahang Maghahalaman ng San Juan
Samahang Magsasaka at Mangingisda ng Kahawangan
Baloganon (SAMMAKAB)
Samahang Magsasaka ng Kaybanban Cooperative
Samahang Magsasaka ng Sitio Marupo
Samahang Magsasaka ng Togue Taltal
Samahang Magsasaka ng Turda
Samahan ng mga Katutubong Ayta sa Biaan
Samahan ng Tagbanuang Kababaihan sa Sitio Maraliten
San Isidro Women’s Association
San Joseph Women’s Association
SKA-Kinaragan
Tri-People Federation Mindanao
United Navotas Workers Association (UNAWA)
Affiliated organizations:
NGOs
Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearance

(AFAD)
Centro Saka, Inc
Coconut Industry Reform Movement, Inc. (COIR)
Cordillera Women’s Education Action Resource Center
(CWEARC)
ESCR-Asia
Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG)
Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC)
Integrated Development Program for Indigenous Peoples (IDPIP)
Kampanya para sa Makataong Pamumuhay (KAMP)
Katinnulong Daguiti Umili ti Amianan (KADUAMI)
Montañosa Research and Development Center, Inc. (MRDC)
National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP)
Negros Center for People Empowerment and Rural
Development (NCPERD)
Negros Initiatives for Rural Development, Inc. (NIRD)
Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM)
Philippine Task Force of Indigenous People’s Concerns (TFIP)
Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (SIBAT)
Streetchildren Development Center (SDC)
Sulong Carhrihl
Visayas Mindanao Regional Office for Development (VIMROD)
Woman Health Philippines
POs
Highlander Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose

Cooperative (HARBEMCO)
Katipunan ng Bagong Pilipina (KABAPA)
Pambansang Kaisahan ng Magbubukid sa Pilipinas (PKMP)
Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan
(PKSK)
PARAGOS-Pilipinas
Tribal Upland Farmers Association (TUFA)
٠ 27
٠ 29
Proceedings of the National Conference

A Collective Action for Policy Reform
A. Pagkain Sapat Dapat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
B. Inputs
1. Sufficient Food for All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2. International Perspective: The Global Debates on RTAF
and Social Protection and its International Obligations . . . . . . . 43
by Martin Remppis
3. The Rights Based Approach to Food Security and
Nutrition: The Case of Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
by Flavio Valiente
4. Learning From Practice: Determining Needs
RTAF Situation in the Philippines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
C. Panel Discussion I
1. Agrarian Reform and the Right to Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
by Ricardo Reyes
2. Right to Food, Food Security and Rice Sufficiency . . . . . . . 89
by Romeo Royandoyan
3. Gender and the Right to Adequate Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
by Patricia Gonzales
D. Panel Discussion II
1. Social Protection and the Right to Adequate Food . . . . . . 115
by Dr. Nymia Pimentel-Simbulan
2. Climate Change and Food Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
by Dr. Laura David
E. Panel Discussion III
1. Towards a National Food Framework Law for the Philippines . . .130
by Maria Socorro Diokno
2. Engaging Government to Implement RTAF:
The Role of HRBA in Capacity Building . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
by Max de Mesa
F. Regional Reporting
1. Report on the Regional Workshops on RTAF . . . . . . . . . . . 156
by Elvira Quintela
G. Workshop Results
1. Assessment of Vulnerable Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
2. Advocacy and Litigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165
3. Monitoring of State Performance on Different Levels . . . .167
4. Recourse Instruments/Complaint Redressal Mechanisms . . . 170
5. Naming and Shaming through Actions + Media . . . . . . . . . 175
Proceedings of the National Conference ٠ 31
“PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT”

A Collective Action for Policy Reform
Organized by the
Sulo Riviera Hotel, Diliman, Quezon City

February 27-28, 2013
D ay One
The National Conference on the Right to
Adequate Food: A Collective Action for Policy Reform
was formally opened with inter-faith prayers and
offerings from leaders representing Islam, Christian
and Indigenous Peoples. This was followed by the
welcome remarks of Ms. Aurea G. Miclat-Teves,
President of FoodFirst Information and Action
Network-Philippines (FIAN-Philippines). The first
day of the conference was facilitated by Dean Rosalinda
Ofreneo of the University of the Philippines - College
of Social Work and Community Development (UP-
CSWCD) during the morning session and Atty. Ricardo
Sunga of Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) in the
afternoon.
Aurea Miclat-Teves
Welcome Remarks:
In behalf of the National Food Coalition composed of more

than 50 organizations and federations with more than 10,000
members, and the NFC Steering Committee represented by
FIAN-Philippines, PDI, Philrights and AFRIM, I would like
to welcome you to this historic opportunity for us to learn how
to recast government policies to address our right to adequate
food (RTAF). We would also like to invite you to become
active participants and members of the NFC in our struggle to
fight for our right to adequate food.
I would like to welcome Dr. Flavio Valente and Ms.
Yifang Tang of FIAN-IS and our friend from BFW-ED,
Mr. Martin Remppis, whose commitment and dedication
to RTAF cannot be measured.
The National Food Coalition was born out of the
need of all the sectors in Philippine society to respond to
the growing hunger and impoverishment in the country.
There have been scant discussions on policy reform on
RTAF and the role of politics and power in explaining the
vulnerability of the poor rural communities to hunger and
malnutrition. Discussions are left wanting because they fail to

engage the strategic issue of RTAF and the reform agenda to
define who holds the power and how the balance of political
forces in rural areas can advance or retard significant change.
The conference aims to address this serious deficit by
restoring the emphasis on the power relations that increase
the economic and political uncertainties and the multiple
risks associated with unclear policies and unresolved property
rights in rural areas, and how these in turn heightens the
vulnerability of the rural poor to hunger and malnutrition,
directly affected by environmental and climate change.
The principal objective is to create a forum for
assessing and learning from the collective actions of
peasants and IPs at the ground level and the urban poor
and other civil society groups at the urban centers, learn
from the Brazil experience with regard to our struggle for
the right to adequate food.
Specifically, the conference would like to define the
next step process for the national platform on RTAF,
formulate an RTAF Campaign, learn from the experiences
of other countries and present a summary report of what
has been done by the coalition.
The broader goal is to understand how the various
Philippine policies on RTAF can be integrated into
a national policy framework and to develop change
strategies that will impact on the larger issues of economic
growth for rural and urban development
To show the glaring reality on the RTAF situation in
the Philippines, please watch this video presentation.
Video Presentation: Chicken ala Carte

Input:
SUFFICIENT FOOD FOR All
By Aurea G. Miclat-Teves
Convenor, National Food Coalition
President, FIAN Philippines
President, Peoples Development Institute (PDI)
Our conference comes at a very opportune time.

In three months, we will be electing our local
executives and the members of Congress – our
representatives and senators.
Many issues are being raised by candidates
competing for our votes. Some say they deserve our
support for championing reproductive health, some
for freedom of information, others for wage increases
and agrarian reform, and there are those who say they
will end political dynasties, etc. etc.
These are all well and good. But as our groups
are concerned with the right to adequate food, we
would like to know what these candidates have to say
about food security and how they, as our leaders and
legislators, once elected, can make this a reality in the
Philippines in our lifetime.
The Aquino administration is in the final half of
its term and it is seeking our votes in the local and
congressional elections to support its candidates that
will back its programs until the president steps down
in 2016. As it winds up its reform program, we need
to make the administration aware of the urgency of
crafting a national food policy before it bows out of
office. The crucial element in any platform to improve
the lives of Filipinos is assuring food security for the
nation - or providing adequate food that is accessible
to all, especially to the poor in the rural and urban
areas.
This challenge is especially directed to the
candidates for congressmen and senators. They are
the ones who will legislate a national food policy at
the direction of the administration whose leadership
in this regard must be clearly seen and felt. We must,
therefore, determine which candidates have made
themselves informed of the issues involved in regard
to food security and are going to take the correct steps
to address this problem and approach it from the right
perspective.
Hunger Haunts
So what is the food situation? This is graphically

described by the hunger incidence.
The latest survey by the Social Weather Stations on
hunger shows that the hunger rate has come down from
21 % in the third quarter of 2012 to 16.3 % in the fourth
quarter. That means the number of families who have
experienced involuntary hunger, or having had nothing
to eat at least once in the past three months, went down
from 4.3 million in the third quarter to 3.3 million in the
fourth quarter. That translates to roughly 16.5 million
individuals, based on an average family size of five. That is
roughly the population of Holland and about three times
the population of Singapore.
Looking further into the SWS reports from 1998 to

2012, however, we find that hunger has steadily risen
nationwide. In 1998, the average incidence of hunger
in the National Capital Region was 8.1%; it more
than doubled to 22.9% in 2012. In the rest of Luzon,
it increased from 9.9% to 17.8%; in the Visayas, it
rose from 11.3% to14.6%; in Mindanao it was 14.5%,
increasing to 26.3%. Over this period, moderate to
severe hunger almost doubled to 19.9 % in 2012 from
11% in 1998.
During these years, the official Philippine
population figure rose from 60.7 million in 1990 to
76.51 million in 2000 to 92.34 million in 2010. As
our population steadily expanded, so did the number
of hungry Filipinos while undernourishment
declined only slowly. Hunger has been haunting
the nation under the various administrations since
the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos - from Ramos’
six years, Estrada’s aborted term, Arroyo’s nearly
10 years in office, and half of Aquino’s term. Is
there hope that the 16th Congress can improve the
situation?
Food is Life
Food, like air and water, is a basic human entitlement

that no one can live without. It is a personal and a
human right. To regard food more as a need than a
right will subject it to the usual resource constraints
that will make it compete with bureaucratic priorities,
which, in the end, will make it undeliverable in timely
and sufficient amounts. The right to adequate food is
no less than the right to life.
There are three important elements of the right
to food. Food should be adequate, available and
accessible.
The state is primarily responsible for ensuring that
its people have access to enough, nutritious, and safe
food so that they can enjoy healthy and productive
lives. Access entails providing physical facilities and
the economic means to obtain food. In the human
rights framework in which food is a basic right, the
state’s duties and obligations make it a duty bearer,
which implies accountability.
The right to food implies three types of state
obligations - the obligation to respect, protect and to
fulfill. These were defined in General Comment 12
by the Committee on ESCR and endorsed by states
when the FAO Council adopted the Right to Food
Guidelines (Voluntary Guidelines) in November 2004.
As a national policy, the Philippines should aim at
ensuring food security, self-sufficiency and freedom
from hunger for all Filipinos.
The Legal Framework
An assessment of the Philippine Legal framework,

or PLF, and the available recourse mechanisms,
national human rights institutions, law-making
processes, and awareness of the right to adequate
food indicate that it falls short of the imperatives for
realizing the right to food. It does not sufficiently
incorporate human rights obligations arising from

the right to food, including the state’s obligation of
international cooperation.
Various existing laws on food, food safety,
availability, and accessibility are incoherent and not
complementary and sometimes conflict with each
other. Their analysis of the different policies related
to food focused mainly on the three parameters -
availability, accessibility and safety.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution does not
explicitly recognize the right to adequate food but
there is recognition inferred from several provisions
and constitutional intent. Article II seeks improvement
of the quality of life and social justice while Article
III covers agrarian reform and rights of subsistence
fishermen.
National Food Policy
Before any policy is crafted, the government must

first recognize its own shortcomings. The Asia Pacific
Policy Center study on the legal framework on the
right to food of vulnerable sectors found the following:
• Government agencies are still largely unaware
of their obligations in relation to the right
to food. A national survey also found that
awareness and perception among the public
regarding their right to food varies by income
class and educational attainment -- the higher
the educational attainment, the higher the
awareness of the right to food.
• The right to food is among the country’s lowest
priority areas for national spending, while debt
service payments account for one of the largest
shares of the national budget.
• The existing food legal framework does not
enhance physical access to food, especially for
those most vulnerable to hunger, plus the laws
on availability need to be harmonized.
• The food legal framework does not sufficiently
address human rights obligations arising from
the right to food and falls short of the “Voluntary
Guidelines to Support the Realization of the
Right to Adequate Food in the Context of Food
Security.”
• Special laws and regulations for those most
vulnerable to hunger or in special situations
(i.e., children, the elderly, persons with
disabilities and persons with HIV/AIDS)
influence the hunger situation of these special
groups.
• The laws governing food prices do not
significantly mitigate hunger, while laws
governing wages and employment are generally
unfavorable to workers; other laws relating to
income generating opportunities are generally
flawed.
• The laws governing access to credit influence
the hunger situation in limited ways since they
do not actually enlarge access to credit.
• The food safety laws recognize the notion of
safe food that meets dietary needs although
they may not directly contribute to alleviating

hunger.
In view of the findings, the National Food Coalition
last year recommended taking three crucial steps to
respond to these shortcomings:
1. Adopt a national food policy, with the
full and active participation of all actors
concerned, including those most vulnerable
to hunger.
2. Use the national food policy to rationalize
the legal framework governing food by
synchronizing laws, addressing contradiction
in policy objectives correcting flaws and
ambiguities, repealing laws that obstruct
the realization of the RTAF, aligning the
budget to the national food policy, enhancing
the mandates of the national human rights
institutions and improving the process of law
making.
3. Develop capacity with regard to the RTAF, and
promote the rights-based approach to establish
and implement the national policy governing
the RTAF for all and to monitor the state’s HR
accountability.
Addressing hunger and extreme poverty is the
most important policy challenge for our leaders.
The members of the 16th Congress have their work
cut out for them and the first order of business may
be to formulate a coherent legal framework for the
right to adequate food and to craft a National Food
Policy.
Input:
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE:
THE GLOBAL DEBATES ON RTAF AND
SOCIAL PROTECTION AND ITS
INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS
By Mr. Martin Remppis

Bread for the World
1. Mr. Martin Remppis opened the discussion on his

topic with the worldwide dimensions of hunger.
Based on FAO-statistics, there are 868 million
people suffering from chronic hunger in the world.
Approximately, 25,000 die of hunger every day. With
this approximated death figure are 16,000 children.
Thus, there is a child dying of hunger every five
seconds in the world.
Mr. Martin Remppis

2. Based on various researches on the phenomenon of
hunger in the world, it was found that:
A) More rural poor suffer from hunger than urban poor.
B) Women and girls are much more affected by
hunger than men and boys.
C) Social exclusion and discrimination of people is
the main reason for hunger (Indigenous peoples,
minorities, etc), and
D) Those who have limited self-help capacities (elderly,
people with disability, etc.) suffer hunger first.
3. Based on international laws, States have the obligation
to progressively realize all economic, social and cultural
rights. This progressive realization contains the
different types or levels of state obligations to respect,
protect and fulfill. Respect-bound obligation means
that the State must not hinder one’s access to food.
Protect-bound obligation requires the State to act and
prevent third party entities from hindering one’s access
to food, while its fulfill-bound obligation mandates the
State to realize the right to food for everyone.
4. The obligation to fulfil can be disaggregated into three
different obligations: a) The obligation to facilitate requires
the state to take positive measures to assist individuals
and communities to enjoy the right; b)The obligation to
promote obliges the state to take steps to ensure that there
is appropriate education and information concerning
the right (this is, however, not mentioned in the General
Comment No. 12 of the Right to Adequate Food); the
obligation to provide requires the state to ensure the
enjoyment of the right by the availability of food supply or
the financial possibility to purchase food.
5. On the recent debate on the Access to Resources

in which right to food is primary, the Committee
on Food Security (CFS) approved the Voluntary
Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure
of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of
National Food Security in May 2012. This is a new
tool for governments and civil society organizations
to address land issues. A download is available under:
www.fao.org
In the same period, the International Labour
Conference adopted ILO Recommendation
Concerning National Floors of Social Protection.
This is a new tool for governments and civil society
organizations to address basic social security. The
document can be downloaded under: www.ilo.org.
NGOs that were involved in the drafting of the ILO-
Recommendations formed the platform Coalition for

Social Protection Floor (SPF Coalition).
In October last year, the Committee on Food Security
(CFS) endorsed the Policy Recommendations regarding
Social Protection for Food Security and Nutrition
(download under www.fao.org)
At the same time, the UN Special Rapporteur on
the Right to Food Olivier de Schutter and the UN
Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights
Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona called for the creation of
a Global Fund for Social Protection (GFSP). This call
gained the support of the European Parliament.
Open Forum:
Dr. Ofreneo: Hunger is a rural phenomenon

yet the trend in the Philippines
is urban development. Thus, the
Philippines is dealing more with
the urban hunger phenomenon.
What is your comment on this?
Martin Remppis: The problems in the rural and
urban areas are linked. Most of
our perception, even with those
in the international community
is urban-biased. The studies
leading to conclusion that hunger
phenomenon is rural does not
mean to neglect urban hunger. It
is just to show that the percentage
is higher in the rural than that in
the urban areas.
Victoria Navida The Department of Social
(DSWD): Welfare and Development in the
Philippines is using the “National
Household Targeting System” in
identifying people to serve especially
those experiencing hunger. We are
also using this tool to reduce hunger
in the country. Our department will
hold consultations on the result of the
recent vulnerability survey using this
system and I am inviting members
of the civil society organizations to
participate in these events.
Conchita Masin: Destruction of the environment
leads to severe hunger in the country.
This is aggravated by mismanagement
of our officials. Good governance
and environmental effects must be
factored in the discussion.
Martin Remppis: Respect, Protect and Fulfill are
the most important aspects of the
Right to Adequate Food and should
be the underlying principles of our
targeting and monitoring systems.
People should be involved in the
development of our targeting and
monitoring systems for them to own
these systems and make them work.
It is the socially excluded people
that are often directly affected by
destruction of the environment and
climate change. I agree that governance
is the crucial factor when we discuss the
Right to Adequate Food.
Patrick Torres: Can we cite government’s

international human rights
obligations when we advocate for
the Right to Adequate Food? What
are some international mechanisms
we can resort to?
Monina Geaga: The Right to Adequate Food is
not only an issue of sufficiency but
also of quality of food. Where in the
global debate can we see discussions
on the production of genetically-
modified organisms (GMOs) since
our government supports both
organic and GMO productions?
Loida Rivera: We are facing an immediate
problem today regarding the
Government’s Land Tenure
Improvement Program under
CARPER since there are still about
900,000-hectare balance and the
program is due for termination. In
our experience with land distribution,
these 900,000 balance needs a 5-year
period to implement. Is there a policy
in your government that directly
relates to our issue of land ownership.
Martin Remppis: Yes, you can quote the
government’s international human
rights obligations when you advocate
for the Right to Adequate Food!
The international human rights
mechanism is regularly reporting to
the Committee on Economic and
Cultural Rights and also the Universal
Periodic Review (UPR), which
includes the review of ESCR-Rights
of which the Right to Adequate
Food is part of. NGOs have the
opportunity to hand in parallel
reports to the government’s report.
The mentioned Voluntary
Guidelines on Land rights can
be used as a framework in our
advocacy. Of course, their nature
is “voluntary”. However, they refer
to legally-binding documents that
force governments to fulfill their
obligations. It can be of great help
in the struggle of the landless.
Yes, you can quote the
government. There is a big global
debate on how we can feed the
world in the future. BftW (Bread
for the World) is convinced that
GMO production, which means
that farmers lose control over what
and how they produce food, is not
the right response to the question of
feeding the world in the future.There
is proof that GMOs contribute to a
monopolized food production and
to the loss of bio-diversity apart from
the unknown health risks. We are
convinced that we have to support a
sustainable) which is an expertise of
400 scientists. You can get internet-
information about IAASTD under
www.agassessment.org.
Flavio Valente (standing right) discussing the case of Brazil.
Input:
THE RIGHTS BASED APPROACH
TO FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION:
THE CASE OF BRAZIL
By Flavio Luiz Schieck Valente MD, MPH

FIAN International Secretary General
Mr. Valente stated his presentation with a brief

historical overview and comparison between Brazil and
the Philippines.
1. During Brazil’s Colonial period (1500 – 1822) the

situation was characterized by:
• Recourse mechanisms still largely insufficient
• Concentration of land and wealth in a small elite
• Extensive monoculture agriculture for export
• African slave labor and Social exclusion
• Industrialization not allowed
2. Between 1888 to 1898, Brazil abolished slavery.
During this period, 75% of its population were
African slaves or of slave descent; the concentration

of wealth and resources remained with the
landlords; and exclusion of now “freemen/women”
worsened.
3. 1900-1964 marked the period of Brazil’s
Industrialization and import replacement while the
country was still characterized by:
• Concentration of land and wealth
• Extensive monoculture agriculture for export
• Social exclusion
4. The country was under military dictatorship
from 1964 – 1985 which the elite dubbed as the
“Brazilian Miracle“ because of massive construction
of infrastructure alongside development of agro-
industrial models particularly on soybeans production.
Land grabbing for agro-industrial purposes led to the
eviction of 7 million small scale peasant families.
5. Redemocratization process began in late 70´s and
80´s. Reorganization of the union movement, the
establishment of the Landless movement and broad
mass mobilizations marked the period. There was a
struggle for direct elections in 1984; Constitutional
assembly in 1988; and the first direct elections for
president took place in1989. This period marked
also the glaring dispute between two models of
development in Brazil -- the Rights-based framed
development (constitution) and the Neo liberal
development model – which highlighted the issues
of poverty, hunger, food and nutrition security.
These have been actively responded to by citizens’
actions, social mobilization and the ascendancy
of Lula to the presidency by popular votes, in
2002. Below is the graph showing the evolution of
poverty in Brazil.
6. The government formally responded to hunger and
poverty issues with the setting up of Consea in 1993-
1994 through a national conference directing for a
national food and nutritional security strategy. The
neo liberal government, which governed from 1995
to 2002, extinguished CONSEA and a worsening
of social conditions was observed, with continued
inequalities. At the time of Lula’s presidency (2003-
2010), the Consea guided the country’s food and
nutritional security policy in an attempt to implement
the administration’s target of “Zero Hunger”. A clear
reduction of extreme poverty and inequality has been
observed since then.
7. One third of Consea’s members are government
ministries with two-thirds coming from the civil
society organizations. It is a CSO-led mechanism, as
its president must be coming from civil society and
the secretary from government ministry. The council
is a rights-based mechanism with strong civil society
participation.
8. The “Zero Hunger” strategy focused on three main
components: a) the Access to Food, and b) strengthening
of Family Agriculture, c) Income generation, and
d)Social mobilizations, control and participation.
Under “Access to Food” were components of access
to income (Bolsa Familia), access to water (Cisterns),
school meals (PNAE), distribution of vitamin A and
iron, food for specific population groups, food and
nutrition education, food and nutrition surveillance
system (SISVAN), workers food program (PAT), local
and regional food and nutrition security networks
composed of community kitchens, fairs, urban
agriculture and food banks. Under “Strengthening
of Family Agriculture” component were: financing of
family agriculture (PRONAF), agriculture insurance
and harvest insurance, and food acquisition program
(PAA). Under income generation component, were
professional qualification, solidarity economy, social
inclusion and microcredit. Under social mobilization
and control, were the establishment of CONSEAs at
state and municipal level, citizenship education and
social mobilization.
9. Below is the regulatory Framework of the right to
adequate food in Brazil. LOSAN in 2006 was a Rights
based National Food and Nutritional Security Law. It
has facilitated the convening of the CONSEA and set
up a national system or the SISAN. LOSAN is ruled
by the following principles (Article 8):
a) Universal and equal access to adequate food
without any form of discrimination;
b) Preservation of the autonomy of and respect for
the dignity of all;
c) Social participation in the formulation,
implementation, follow-up, monitoring and
control of food and nutrition security policies and
plans at all government levels; and
d) Transparency in all programs, actions and public
and private resources and in the criteria for
allocation thereof.
10. SISAN on the other hand is based on the following
guidelines:
1. Promoting intersectoral governmental and non-
govermental policies, programs and actions;
2. Ensuring the decentralization and collaborative
coordination of actions within government;
3. Monitoring the food and nutrition situation, with
the aim of contributing to the management cycle
of policies for the area with different government
bodies;
4. Combining the direct and immediate measures to
ensure the right to adequate food through actions
that improve the autonomous subsistence capacity
of the population;
5. Coordinating budget and management; and,
6. Encouraging the development of research and the
training of human resources.
11. On the governance of the right to adequate food system
of Brazil: The National Food and Nutrition Security
Conference approves the guidelines and priorities for
the Food and Nutrition Security Policy and Plan. Two-
thirds of its composition is from the civil society and one-
third from the government. In this conference, all 27
federative units or States are represented. The CONSEA
is in charge of proposing guidelines and priorities for
the deliberation of the conference and establishes the
budget necessary for the Food and Nutrition Security
Policy and Plan. Two-thirds of CONSEA’s membership
(counselors) comes from civil society and one-third
from the government. Based on the guidelines issued
by CONSEA, CAISAN (inter-ministerial body)
prepares the Food and Nutrition Security Policy and Plan. It is in-charge of establishing guidelines,
targets, funding sources, follow ups, monitoring and evaluation tools. Below is the structure of the
CONSEA.
٠
61
12. Legal instruments to ensure the right to food in Brazil:
LOSAN or the framework law on food and nutrition
security establishes the charter of principles for the right
to adequate food. It issues guidelines for State actions.
It establishes the National Food and Nutrition Security
System or SISAN. The PNSAN or the National Food
and Nutrition Security Policy systematizes the guidelines
issued by LOSAN for implementation. It details out
management plan, funding and monitoring/evaluation
procedures. It establishes the duties of the Union, States,
Federal District and municipalities. The PLANSAN or
the National Food and Nutrition Security Plan is the
planning instrument of the right to adequate food. It
defines objectives, challenges, guidelines and targets. It
allocates public budget plan
13. Brazil’s national mechanism for the right to adequate food
has resulted to reduction of hunger and malnutrition,
reduction of poverty and inequalities, visible participation of
formerly excluded populations, inclusion and promotion of
small scale farmers through agrarian reform, credit facility
and linkages to social programs´ procurement. It has also
upgraded the nominal value of minimum wage, increased
the number of formal employment, created the universal
rural retirement pension system, facilitated dialogue on
sustainable agriculture model with agribusiness model. It
has guaranteed space for social movements to be heard,
has increased policy coherence with human rights and
has provided a holistic approach to food and nutritional
security.
14. What remains as challenges for the system are the
following:
• Recourse mechanisms still largely insufficient

• National Human Rights System still weak, reform of
National Human Rights Council needed
• Lack of effective regulation of the power of agribusiness
and food industry, including marketing, ETO
• Correlation of power in society and Congress,
political reform is needed
• Need for further dissemination of rights culture and of
accountability mechanisms
• Conflicts between development goals and HR.
Open Forum:
Patricia Gonzales: What is the role of Official

Development Assistance
(ODA) in your food program
in Brazil?
Flavio Valente: We used donations from the
international community in the
amount of $1 million rather than
against ODA support of $41 billion
US dollars with conditionalities from
international financing institutions
such as the World Bank.
Elsa Novo: The current Conditional Cash
Transfer (CCT) program of the
government has not improved the
condition of the poor particularly
of women. It has led to lowering
of self esteem of mothers instead
because of the conditionalities
attached to the program.
Flavio Valente: One program of the government
should not be isolated from its other
projects in order not to create another
problem. Cash transfer should be
used as buffers alone while focusing on
developing capacities for the people.
CCTs are actually dangerous. They
could be used for political, personal
and mindset change purposes. The
Right To Adequate Food should not
be reduced to CCT.
Martin Remppis: It’s important not to play off
CCTs against empowerment and vise
versa. The struggle is to deepen social
protection, in particular for those
with limited self-help capacity, and
in addition, to struggle for resources
or the access to them, which allow
people to help themselves with self-
esteem. For the realization of the
Right to Adequate Food we need this
intersectoral and overarching policy
approach, which is directly linked to
the government’s respect, protect,
fulfill-obligations.
Elsa Novo: Brazil’s experience and challenges
has provided us good examples
particularly for us belonging to
the Indigenous Peoples in the
Philippines. Until today, we do not
own our land and the CARPER is
ending. We have not yet accorded
our ancestral domain claims even as
the law provides for it and agencies
are set up by the government to
facilitate immediate resolution of
these cases. What suggestions can
you provide in our current situation?
Flavio Valente: There is always a danger in

copying programs though we do
have the same problems regarding
the Indigenous Peoples where
5% were not recognized by the
government. Unity is needed.
The Right to Adequate Food
is a good issue to begin unity
discussions since we (our sectors)
are the ones producing food for
the whole population.
Wilson Fortaleza: How did Brazil manage
the food prices being the most
speculative product in the market?
Can you share something of your
strategy for food sufficiency?
Danilo Salonga: Government programs in
the Philippines are marred
with corruption. How did your
government avoid this?
Flavio Valente: Brazil has many mechanisms
for food control but not in the
market level. Food shocks happen
without buffer fund, thus the
Government of Brazil provides big
buffers to farmers to produce food
and to unify all in the struggle for
“Zero hunger”.
Raquel Obedoza What were the mechanisms
(NAPC): Brazil used in tracking poverty
and assessing the impact of hunger
mitigation programs?
Flavio Valente
Flavio Valente: We are using the real mapping

of hungry people by identifying
them, the areas they are situated,
disaggregating them, including
grouping them by sector. We
also conduct more detailed
studies and come up with periodic
baseline researches. The tools we
use follow the “self recognition
of hunger” which includes
nutritional surveys, putting up of
a surveillance system to houses on
hunger, food and nutrition. The
whole mechanisms will not succeed
without monitoring including the
monitoring of budget spending.
Dr. Jenny Can we sue local governments
Madamba: for not fulfilling the obligation to
progressively realize the Right to
Adequate Food?
Flavio Valente Based on our experience, we
established a tripartite committees
at the local level with moral and
legal capabilities. We ensure that
people are informed of their rights
and government is informed of its
obligations.
Input:
LEARNING FROM PRACTICE:
DETERMINING NEEDS
RTAF SITUATION IN THE PHILIPPINES
By Aurea M. Teves
President, FIAN-Philippines
1. Food is life. Food sustains life. It is needed upon

birth and no one can live without it. More than a
need, food is a personal right if humanity is to survive.
Food is life’s right.
2. Food is a basic human entitlement like water and air.
It is indispensable for human survival. Thus, the Right
to Adequate Food is no less than the Right to Life.
3. As a basic human right, the state is primarily obligated
and responsible to ensure that its people have physical
and economic access at all times to enough, nutritious,
safe food to lead healthy and active lives. Articles 2
and 11 of the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights provide for the need for
government to progressively realize all rights by all
necessary means. According to this document, the
right to adequate food is realized when every man,
woman and child, alone or in community with others,
has physical and economic access at all times to
adequate food or the means for its procurement.
4. The Human Rights Based Approach to Development
has the fundamental belief that human beings have
basic entitlement to a certain standard of living. It
focuses on the human person as the principal actor. It
establishes the relationship between the person and the
state and shifts emphasis to rights and responsibilities
focusing on development by the people and not just
for the people.
5. The Right to Adequate Food also includes the issues
of security and self-sufficiency. Food Security is
achieved (at the individual, household, national,
regional and global levels) when all people at all times
have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe
and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and
food preferences for an active and healthy life. Food
Self-Sufficiency means countries and even smaller
economic units (province, municipality, community)
should have the domestic capacity to produce and
store their needed food supply – at least for staple
food. Governments are advised to develop local food
production to progressively reduce their dependence
on imports of food crops.
6. Human rights laws mandate government to maximize
available resources towards achieving progressively
the full realization of HR by all appropriate means.
Available resources mean physical factors, natural
resources, human power, existing productive
capacities, financial resources, foreign exchange,
receipts from borrowing, grants, assistance, programs
targeting vulnerable groups.
7. There are three types of State obligations to realize
the Right to Adequate Food. The Obligation to
Respect – government should not take any measures
that arbitrarily deprive people of their right to food,
e.g. regulation preventing people access to food.
The Obligation to Protect - state should enforce

appropriate laws and take other relevant measures
to prevent 3rd parties, including individuals and
corporations, from violating the RTAF of others.
The Obligation to Fulfil (facilitate and provide) --
entails governments being pro-actively engaged in
activities intended to strengthen people’s access to and
utilization of resources so as to facilitate their ability
to feed themselves.
8. The Right to Adequate Food is composed of core
elements for its realization. Availability of food requires
that food should be available from natural resources
through agricultural production, fishing, hunting,
gathering or from markets and shops. Accessibility
of food requires that economic and physical access to
food should be guaranteed. Food should be affordable.
Food adequacy means that food must satisfy dietary
needs. Food must be safe for human consumption
and free of adverse contaminants from industrial
and agricultural processes, including residues from
pesticides, hormones or veterinary drugs.
9. The following graphs below present the hunger
situation in the Philippines.
Incidence of Malnutrition, Philippines, 1990-2008

% of underweight children,
Year
0-5 years old
1990 34.50%
1993 29.90%
1996 30.80%
1998 32.00%
2001 30.60%
2003 26.90%
2005 24.60%
2008 26.20%
10. In 2011, out of the targeted 243,000 hectares nationwide

the government had reportedly distributed only
111,000 hectares of land. DAR Secretary Gil de los Reyes
already admitted that DAR will not be able to finish land
distribution, leaving around 500,000 hectares — almost
half of DAR’s target land distribution — undistributed by
2014. The non-implementation of CARPER will affect
1.1 million farmers.
11. IP ancestral domain/ancestral land (AD/AL) has an
estimated area of around 7.7 million hectares (that
comprises 26% of the total 30 million hectares of
the country’s land coverage). Out of total 286 CADT

applications, 158 were approved by 2012 covering a
total area of 4,304,464.93 hectares for an IP population
of 918,495.
12. By 2010, a total of 257 CALTs were approved covering
an area of 17,293.14 hectares for an IP population of
8,608.
13. Based on the PLF Assessment on the Right to
Adequate Food:
• There is no explicit recognition of the right to
adequate food in the Philippine Constitution, thus
resulting in a weak Philippine legal framework on
RTAF;
• The lack of a national food policy to serve
as overarching framework to address hunger
results in an incoherent, non-complementary
and even conflicting Philippine legal
framework;
• The national budget does not reflect the obligation
to eradicate hunger, thus causing issues of poor
performance in implementation of laws;
• Complaint and recourse mechanisms to vindicate
violations of the right to adequate food are formally
in place but in practice insufficient; mechanisms to
enforce fulfillment of state obligations are non-
existent;
• The national human rights institutions contribute
little to redress breaches of the right to adequate
food due to tremendous imposition with regard to
civil and political human rights violations and to
limitations in their mandates;
72
Share of Land Distribution CARP Share of Years of Annual
Accomplishment to Land Presidency Land
Land Distribution Distribution Distribution
(in hectares) Output (in hectares)
(in percent)
Corazon Aquino 848,518 20.52 6 141,419.7
Fidel Ramos 1,900,035 45.95 6 316,672.5
Joseph Estrada 222,907 5.39 2.5 89,162.8
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo 954,408 23.08 8* 115,301

٠ PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT
Benigno Aquino III 208,831 5.05 2 104,415.5
Total 4,134,699 172,279.13
Source: DAR Accomplishment Reports, 1988-2011
*Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo distributed lands from 2001-2008. During the last 2 years of her presidency,
land distribution was halted due to the uncertainty of the future of CARP and the extensiobn debates in
Coingress.
• The law-making processes leave much to be

desired;
• Government and public awareness of the right to
adequate food is lacking;
• There is weak implementation of laws and policies
and there is a lack of government support to
agriculture, fisheries and agrarian reform;
• Conflicting policies cause crises in program
planning and implementation;
• There are no safeguards to cushion the negative
effects of food price volatilities.
14. Based on the assessment, the following are forwarded
as recommendations:
• Adoption of a national food policy, with the full
and active participation of all actors concerned,
including those most vulnerable to hunger.
• Using the national food policy to rationalize
the legal framework governing food by
synchronizing laws, addressing contradiction
in policy objectives, correcting flaws and
ambiguities, repealing laws that obstruct the
realization of the RTAF, aligning the budget to
the national food policy, enhancing the mandates
of the national human rights institutions and
improving the process of law making.
• Capacity development on the RTAF, and the
promotion of RBA for the establishment and
implementation of the national policy governing
the RTAF for all and to monitor the state’s HR
accountability.
15. The Right to Adequate Food Strategic Intervention:
Panel Discussion I:
Speaker 1:
AGRARIAN REFORM
AND THE RIGHT TO FOOD
By Ricardo Reyes
President, FDC
1. The links between agrarian reform and the right to
food is first and foremost, the main PRODUCER of
FOOD -- the FARMER, who should be assured of
adequate food, has developed capacity to produce, and
leads a decent life. But this is not the reality in the
Philippines. The data below show these discrepancies.
Population Families
Poverty Threshold (per
1,043 7,017
month, in pesos)
Food Threshold (per
974 4,869
month, in pesos)
Poor % 26.50% 20.90%
Poor Magnitude 23.1M 3.86M
Food Poor % 10.80% 7.90%
Food Poor Magnitude 9.44M 1.45M
Source: NSCB 2009
Self-rated
Self-rated Poor
Hunger
National 51% 40%
Metro Manila 40% 28%
Luzon 49% 43%
Visayas 60% 46%
Mindanao 54% 37%
Source: SWS, Oct 2009
2. Fishermen, farmers and children comprised the

poorest three sectors in 2009 with poverty incidences
of 41.4%, 36.7% and 35.1% respectively. The graphs
above present these poverty statistics by sector and by
major islands in the country.
3. The data presented above were due to failure of

major government programs related to food and
land. For one, CARP and CARPER are limited
laws and are impaired in implementation. CARP/er
beneficiaries don’t enjoy food sovereignty. Second,
the right to food and food security were neglected
major components of the CARP/er. Its LTI-BPD
integration was not genuinely programmed based
on its concept, budget allocation and mechanisms.
It cut down subsidies on the products. It failed to
provide social wages through additional food and
emergency food assistance, educational benefits to
children and universal health care.
4. The impact on the RTF of the whole population can
be summed up in the following: a) insufficient food
production, thus the need for imports; b) agricultural
processing and trading has long been an oligopoly,
thus monopolistic pricing and super profits; and, c)
liberalization, market regime worsened oligopoly.
5. The struggle for the Right to Adequate Food is also
confronted with another big challenge. The issue of
climate change placed the Philippines as the 3rd most
vulnerable country in the world to climate disasters.
Annually, 5% of GDP and 2% of GNP are lost to
typhoons, floods, drought and landslides -- very
limited and conservative estimates.
6. As an alternative to resolve current conditions there
should be a new agrarian reform program which
highlights: a) Consolidation of covered lands; b)
Compulsory Acquisition of Uncovered lands (2
million hectares more of prime agricultural lands);
c) A programmed LTI-PBD integration; d) Not
CLOA, but ET; e) Breaking the monopoly/cartels in
agricultural processing and trading: Nationalize or at
the minimum, bring the State back as major player, f)
Social Wage: Food, education and health. The right
to food must be integrated into the agrarian reform
program. The adaptation and mitigation for climate
change must lead to shifting to sustainable agriculture
and renewable energy.
7. Mr. Reyes concluded his sharing with a call for a
dialogue between two big communities struggling
for agrarian reform, the CARPER movement and the
GARB movement with the help of CBCP/NASSA as
facilitator.
Ricardo Reyes
Romeo C. Royandoyan
Speaker 2:
RIGHT TO FOOD,
FOOD SECURITY AND RICE SUFFICIENCY
By Romeo C. Royandoyan
Centro Saka, Inc. (CSI)
1. Mr. Omi Royandoyan opened his topic with the

Presidential pronouncement that rice self-sufficiency is
possible in 2012. Quoting from the Business Mirror on
November 3, 2011, the President said “Every time I see
the secretary of Agriculture, I say, ‘When you submit your
numbers to me, it looks like your target of 2013 is old news
in terms of self-sufficiency in rice. It looks like 2012 is when
you’re going to be self-sufficient”. He bragged about
Philippine food security by saying, “I am very pleased to
note that our agriculture minister is giving us a guarantee
that there’s no need for further importation of rice with
the next harvest due in January”. “We will have an excess
over that which is mandated as the strategic reserve in
terms of rice. And what was done was not radical changes
but rather just doing what was necessary.” (President
Pnoy, November 12, 2011, Inquirer HONOLULU,
Hawaii). President Benigno Aquino bragged to a group
of corporate chief executive officers’ attending the APEC
CEO summit about his administration’s achievements in
ensuring food security for the Philippines without having
to employ radical change but simply by “just doing what
was necessary.”
2. Dissecting State Policies on Small Farm Development
(AFMA Modernizing Agriculture, AGRICOMM 1998),
one may conclude that: a) with the agrarian reform
program making much headway in breaking large estates
into small farms, future Philippine agriculture will
inevitably be dominated by small owner-cultivated farms;
b) the predominance of small farms will predetermine the
nature of technologies invented, products produced and
institutions formed; c) the way we teach agriculture and
formulate our priorities in research and development,
the manner by which we produce commodities, and the
institutions we create for agricultural modernization
will be governed after the imperatives of small farms;
d) poverty alleviation is the ultimate justification for the
efforts to modernize the countryside. Agriculture and
poverty are linked; most of the poor are in the rural areas.
Thus, making agriculture more productive will help win
the battle against poverty in general; e) on the whole,
government spending for agriculture was very low
compared with its contribution to the economy; f) there
are three major areas where government spending must
be focused in order to improve agricultural productivity.
These are investments in infrastructure, education and
training, and agricultural research; g) in sum, the five
guiding principles: growth, efficiency, equity, efficiency,

and sustainability (or GEEES); h) growth in agriculture
is critical because of the relatively large size of the sector
in the economy; i) that agricultural production be
efficient in order that local products may compete with
imported goods; j) equity means that benefits of growth
are shared by the majority of the people. Sustainability
requires that production maintain ecological balance so
that the resource base will still be of use to our children
and their children. In general, Philippine agriculture is
being shaped by agrarian reform to become a family-
based agricultural system.
3. The government’s Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries
Development Zones Policy mandates that the
Department shall, within six (6) months after the approval
of this Act, and in consultation with the local government
units, Appropriate government agencies, concerned
non-government organizations (NGOs) and organized
farmers and fisherfolk’s groups, identify the Strategic
Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zones (SAFDZ)
within the network of protected areas for agricultural
and agro-industrial development to ensure that lands are
efficiently and sustainably utilized for food and non-food
production and agro-industrialization.
4. Under PNOY’s 2011-2016 Food (Rice) Staples Sufficient
Program, its Food Staples Self Sufficiency Program (FSSP)
aims to produce at least 21.11 and 22.49 million tons of
palay by the end of 2013 and 2016; maintain per capita
rice consumption at 120 kg/year; and increase production
of non-rice staples by 3.5 annually. The graphs and tables
below present the administration’s projection on this issue.
Production Target (DA)
Target in Local Palay Production

Particulars 2010 2011 2012 2013
Rice/Palay Requirement, 13.16/ 13.44/ 13.58/ 13.72/
M mt 20.25 20.68 20.90 21.11
Palay Production, M mt 16.24 17.46 19.20 21.11
Rice Self-Sufficiency
80.2 84.4 92.0 100.0
Level
Increase in Palay
1.22 1.74 1.92
Production, M mt
Harvested Palay Area, M ha 4.39 4.53 4.67 4.81
Increase in Harvested
145 136 140
Palay Area, T ha
Target Palay Yield, mt/ha 3.70 3.85 4.11 4.39
Increase in Palay Yield, 150: 262: 279:
kg/ha : cav/ha 3.00 5.24 5.58
Yield, Historical Performance
Trend of Rice (Palay) Production, area harvested

% yield, (including imports) 2000-2006
% Imports
Year Production Area Yield
Growth (M/T)*
2000 12,389,412 4,038,085 3.07 5.11 616,519.00
2001 12,954,870 4,065,441 3.19 4.56 739,428.00
2002 13,270,653 4,046,318 3.28 2.44 1,238,366.20
2003 13,499,884 4,006,421 3.37 1.73 697,836.20
2004 14,496,784 4,126,645 3.51 7.38 904,074,65
2005 14,603,005 4,072,000 3.59 0.73 1,804,783.93
2006 15,324,706 4,159,930 3.68 4.96 1,622,090.40
Trend of Rice (Palay) Production, area harvested

% yield, (including imports) 2007-20011
% Imports
Year Production Area Yield
Growth (M/T)*
2007 16,240,194 4,272,799 3.80 5.96 1,790,269.35
2008 16,815,548 4,459,977 3.77 3.54 2,341,326.41
2009 16,266,417 4,532,310 3.59 -3.26 1,575,000.00
2010 15,772,319 4,354,161 3.62 -3.03 2,128,416.28
2011 16,684,062 4,536,642 3.68 5.78
94
Rice Program Performance: 2007-2011
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Production (MT) 16,240,194 16,815,548 16,266,417 15,772,319 16,684,062
Area Harvested (HA) 4,272,799 4,459,977 4,532,310 4,354,161 4,536,642
Yield (MT/HA) 3.80 3.77 3.59 3.62 3.68
Budget Php B 2,631,400 10,038,862 3,531,602 4,317,216 6,181,165
Palay: Crops Forecasts & Estimates January-December 2012
Source: Bureau of Agriculture Statistics (BAS)
٠ PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT
5. Analyzing PNOY’s Rice Sufficiency Program 2011-

2012 will lead us to opine that it is “irrigation
dependent”. This is demonstrated by the pie charts
below as compared to GMAs Rice Sufficiency Plan.
6. The issue of rice production is also compounded by

the problem of rice smuggling to the Philippines. On
July 26, 2012, the Bureau of Customs (BoC) seized an
estimated half a billion worth of smuggled imported
rice from India, some 430,000 sacks in Subic Bay
Freeport. This recent development accounts for
the slow sales of locally produced rice due to price
disparities. A 50 kilogram/cavan of local milled rice
costs Php 1,400 @ Php 28.00/kg while smuggled rice
is priced at Php 950 per sack/cavan but sold at Php
1,200. Traders receive a net profit of Php 250 per sack
without bothering with the production costs.
7. If smuggling persists, palay price will go down Php 14/kg.
Its effect, according to the Philippine Confederation of
Grains Association (Confed), will be: “Nobody wants to
buy. Millers do not have the capital to buy palay because
they have yet to move their old stocks.” Private traders
and rice millers buy/absorb/procure 97%/98% of total
rice harvest (TRH). NFA buys only 3% of the TRH.
To solve this issue, government needs to buy or procure
38% of rice production for Php105B from the farmers-
growers since private traders/rice millers can no longer
procure palay from them. If government is remiss in its
obligation to farmers, they will be forced to sell palay at
the lower cost of Php 14/kg, almost the cost to produce a
kilo of palay. Impact wise, rice farmers will stop planting
rice or will continue planting but burdened with heavy
loans/debts.
8. The claim of the Secretary of Agriculture that rice self-
sufficiency is achievable in 2013 is without basis. There
is nothing wrong for the government to aim for food
(rice) self-sufficiency. In fact, farmers and organic rice
farming practitioners and advocates strongly support
this national goal. However, it is important to make
a realistic assessment of the situation. Even the Task
on Rice & Other Staples of Agriculture and Fisheries
2025 has raised doubts about the target of achieving

rice self-sufficiency by 2013 or 2014. To attain rice self-
sufficiency, palay production growth should average at
least “7.10% per annum as against the historical growth
rate of 3.4% per annum.”
9. There are other critical factors to consider in the rice
self-sufficiency program. Among experts in Philippine
agriculture and fisheries, the critical factors towards
achieving food sufficiency are infrastructure measures,
namely irrigation, post harvest facilities, and other so-
called productivity enhancing programs. Research and
development is also considered an important element.
No doubt, these are important intervention elements.
But this is only one side of the story. The other side
is the role of the producers, the rice farmers and farm
workers. Are their rights, property rights and means of
production secured to fully participate in production
activities?
10. Secured property rights with direct support service
(e.g. cost of production input support) will encourage
farmers to produce more because these induce incentives.
The absence of property rights erodes the capacity and
incentives of farmers to be productive. Production will
remain static (i.e. insufficient production) if the farmers
in the country will always be in debt since farmers cannot
invest on things that can improve production.” Philippine
Agriculture (PA) 2020 emphasized the importance of
the link. “The problem of poverty cannot be adequately
addressed without resolving the challenges of productivity
and equitable access to productive assets by farmers and
fisher folk.” The infrastructure and property rights (or
the equity and growth issue) nexus property rights not
included in the rice self-sufficiency program.
11. Philippine agriculture is basically oil-based. The current
food production input regime relies heavily on chemical
fertilizers. Nitrogen (N) fertilizer (a major production
input in rice production) requires 1.80 liters of diesel
oil equivalent (LDOE) (source: ted Mendoza). To
“produce a ton of palay (unmilled rice) requires 18-
20 kg N, which translates to 215 LDOE. “N fertilizer
accounts for 50-60 percent of crop yield. A 50% cut
in fertilizer use will significantly slash production yield
by 25%-30% or about “4.0 million to 4.8 million tons
of unmilled rice if prorated in 4 million hectares (16
million tons of paddy rice). Thus, an oil price hike will
reduce the application of fertilizer. Reduced fertilizer
utilization will lower rice yields per hectare.
12. However the data on dealers’ prices by fertilizer grade
from 2007-2011 do not reflect or manifest the inverse
relationship between the price of fertilizer and production
output. In 2008 when the price of fertilizer was high, the
production yield was also high. This is compared with
production output in 2009, 2010 and 2011 when the
prices of fertilizers were slipping. (See tables below). One
possible explanation for this is that fertilizer prices affect
not the rice yield but farm incomes and savings of rice
farmers. Any increase in price of fertilizers raises cost of
rice production. Farmers usually resort to borrowing and
land pawning (or harvest pawning). The few who are
lucky enough have some savings to pay for more expensive
fertilizers. Bankruptcy among farmers is becoming more
common.
Fertilizers: Dealers’ Prices by Fertilizer Grade and Year
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Ammophos (16-20-0) 748.61 728.51 773.12 1,564.58 1,111.08 951.47 1,059.88
Ammosul (21-0-0) 534.41 482.48 533.64 901.49 604.43 544.49 668.86
Complete (14-14-14) 771.44 754.71 801.46 1,612.89 1,216.54 1,083.41 1,183.23
Urea (45-0-0) 905.38 899.64 954.61 1,524.75 1,022.69 981.11 1,196.29
Trend in Rice Production, 2007-2011

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Production (Total) 16,240,194 16,815,548 16,266,417 15,772,319 16,684,062
Area Harvested 4,272,799 4,459,977 4,532,310 4,354,161 4,536,642
Yield (MT/HA) 3.80 3.77 3.59 3.62 3.68
13. Another factor for consideration is the impact of climate change. 2.32 million hectares of
potentially irrigable areas or 74.52% are at risk: 1.23 million hectares are being serviced by the
irrigation system, 610,468 hectares or 79.80% of the national irrigation system and 469,339
٠
hectares or 84.17% of communal irrigation system are at risk. Luzon-irrigated lands face the
99
highest risk from climate change.

Table Poverty by Sector of Employment, 1985-2000 (%)
1985 1988 191 1994 1997 2000 Contribution total poverty, 2000
Incidence
Agriculture 57.7 51.2 51.9 49.9 42.3 45.9 61.3
Mining 46.4 34.4 44.7 37.1 30.0 58.4 2.4
Manufacturing 31.4 21.9 20.9 16.5 13.5 16.1 4.2
Utilities 17.5 10.8 12.5 9.5 9.5 6.7 0.1
Construction 39.6 33.8 33.8 34.5 23.1 29.8 7.7
Trade 27.3 18.6 21.3 17.8 13.5 15.4 5.8
Transportation 27.8 24.1 22.5 21.2 13.7 18.2 6.1
Finance 13.2 8.5 6.9 7.1 3.0 9.1 0.7
Services 20.0 15.4 15.2 12.7 9.9 10.5 4.3

Unemployed 21.5 18.3 16.8 17.1 12.1 14.0 7.3
Source: Arsenio Balisacan, Poverty and Inequality, The Philippine Economy:
Development, Policies and Challenges, Ateneo de Manila University Press
14. On the use of water dams for irrigation: of the five water dams (Angat, Pantabangan, Binga,
Ambuklao, Magat and San Roque), the NIA only directly manages the Pantabangan and Magat
dams. During dry months when water (dam) level is low, the need for power generation and
domestic water are prioritized over irrigation. Most of our dams are now privatized.
Irrigated Lands at Risk to Climate Change
Area Served by Irrigation System (ha)
Nature & Types of Potentially National Communal Private Total Irrigation
Climate Change Irrigable Irrigation Irrigation Irrigation Service Development
Risks Areas (Has) System System on System Area (%)
Luzon 1,594,290 478,176 304,921 111,853 894,950 56.10
(51.02%) (63.51%) (54.68%) (51.13%) (58.12%)
Bicol 239,660 20,530 70,050 29,484 120,064 50.10

(7.67%) (2.68%) (12.56%) (13.57%) (7.80%)
Visayas 332,370 82,335 72,649 12,504 167,488 50.30

(10.63%) (10.76%) (13.03%) (5.65%) (10.88%)
Mindanao (Caraga) 162,300 29,427 21,719 3,316 54,462

(5.19%) (3.85%) (3.90%) (1.53%) (3.53%)
Total Irrigated 2,329,620 610,468 469,339 153,841 1,236,964 53.10

Areas at Risk (25.28%) (79.80%) (84.17%) (70.79%) (80.33%)
15. The right to food can be achieved only if food, and in the case of the Philippines, rice, is readily
available and accessible always, is safe and affordable for both producers and consumers especially
for the rural and urban poor. Attaining the goal of rice self-sufficiency will not necessarily mean
٠101
the poor have access to affordable food (rice). Right to

food through a food security and rice trade liberalization
point of view may not necessarily promote rice self-
sufficiency. It encourages rice importation not only as
a stopgap measure during times of shortfalls and as a
regular and permanent mechanism to promote food
security. Rice affordability and availability are the
central consideration of this point of view, not rice self-
sufficiency.
16. The right to food rice self-sufficiency is both practicable
and affordable for the urban and rural poor consumers
too. This is only possible by shifting the farming
approach to organic rice cultivation system, i.e. organic
fertilizers and seeds will be sourced locally through seed
banking. This approach believes that the cost of paddy
rice production may be cut considerably by as much as
25% because fertilizer costs-utilization accounts 18%
and seeds cost around 7% of the total paddy cost. Labor
cost makes up 45% of the total paddy costs and shifting
to organic fertilizers and seed can halve total expenses
because cultivation can be done through community
collaboration (community best practices). Field study
(2x year/5 years) shows that organic rice farming yields
between 4 to 5 mt/ha. The highest recorded rice yield
so far was between 9 to 10 mt/ha using the SRI method.
This matches inbred high-quality seeds rice yield of 4 to
6 mt/ha, with 10 mt/ha as the highest yield.
17. Based on the current figures of rice production, the
government is banking on its twin proposals: 1) to
reduce palay procurement within the buying capacity
of the NFA and 2) to phase out palay support price
Proceedings of the National Conference ٠103
starting 2011/2012. These proposals are the opposite

of what rice farmers and rural based-NGOs have been
advocating for the past ten years. The NGOs advocate
that rice farmers need support and protection in a
context where rice trading is controlled by big rice
traders. The proposal to reduce [if not eliminate] the
capacity of the NFA to procure palay and allow the
so-called “market” to determine the course of rice
trading and pricing will further strengthen the rice
traders’ stranglehold on the rice industry. It would
simply allow the traders to continue dictating the
present arrangement of buying palay from farmers
at a low price or below production cost and selling
high to consumers. Obviously, this arrangement is

disastrous to both rice farmers and the consuming
public. Nobody wins except the big rice traders.
Thus, to counter government proposals, rice farmers
recommend instead to strengthen buying capacity
(domestic procurement) of NFA. Palay support price
is the only government support that offers direct
benefits to rice farmers. The current price support is
fixed at Php17.00/kilo. Since production cost per kilo
is PhP11.50, the current support price is sufficient for
the rice farmer to secure profits.
18. If the proposed reforms simply focus on procurement
and price support without considering the whole
paradigm of sustainable agriculture and the imperatives
of small farm development, then the government’s effort
would be reduced to a one-shot palliative measure for a
complex food security problem.
19. They propose a Special Small Farmers Fund, with a
subsidized interest rate. The Task Force on Rice urges
the government to contract a 40-year soft yen loan with
0.2% interest rate a year with a 5-year grace period.
Because this loan has an almost zero cost of money,
agricultural cooperatives, rural banks, and MFIs can lend
to small farmers and small scale fishers at 6%-7% interest
rate a year. The Japanese Yen loan of US$250 million can
serve as a credit facility for small agricultural producers
and small-scale fishers. The Agricultural Credit Policy
Council of 15% interest rate per annum inadequately
provides for the credit needs of farmers and fishers. The
provision/allocation of Php400 million is quite small as
against the huge credit requirement.
Patricia Gonzales
Speaker 3:
GENDER AND THE RIGHT
TO ADEQUATE FOOD
By Patricia Gonzales
Vice Chairperson, SARILAYA
1. Gender equality and gender equity is a matter of

human rights. This principle applies to the right
to adequate food. Gender equality is the concept
that both men and women are free to develop
their personal abilities and make choices without
limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender roles
or prejudices. This means that different behaviors,
aspirations and needs of women and men are
considered, valued and favored equally; that women
and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities
will not depend on whether they are born male or
female. Gender equity on the other hand, means
fairness of treatment for men and women according
to their respective needs. This may include equal

treatment for women, but often women and men
need to receive different treatment in order to receive
the same benefits and to experience their rights. It
requires built-in measures to compensate for the
historical and social disadvantages of women.
2. In Philippine households, care giving and household
work is mostly done by women, where work is unpaid
and undervalued. In times of food crises, women give
way to other members of the family, especially their
children in prioritizing food intake. These are some
gender issues on the right to adequate food.
3. The data below present the experience of children.
About 18% of children skipped/missed meals because
there was no food or money to buy food, 8.2%
experienced not eating for a whole day because there
was no food or money to buy food, and 15.1% went
hungry and did not eat because there was no food or
money to buy food.
4. According to the 6th National Nutrition Surveys,
Household Food Insecurity 2003, Food and Nutrition
Research Institute, Dept. of Science and Technology,
“More mothers than children had experiences of
food insecurity, which reflects the innate childcaring
quality of Filipino mothers/women in general.”
5. One of the MDG targets is the reduction of the

proportion of people who suffer from hunger by
2015. One of the official indicators, from the NNS, is
the proportion of households with per capita energy
intake of less than 100% adequacy. From the data
of the 2003 Household Food Consumption Survey –
NNS, 57% of households had per capita energy intake
that was less than 100% adequate. Looking at the
trends of the proportion of households who are not
eating enough and poverty – the association is clear.
Hunger is poverty-driven. Decreasing poverty and
decreasing proportion of households with per capita
energy intake less than 100% adequacy.
6. Quite a number of modern day diseases come as

a result of consuming unsafe food or food that can
cause chronic ailments like diabetes, cancer, heart
ailments and the like. Food production methods like
chemical farming render food unsafe and destroy the
environment. Unsafe food consumption has possible
impact to our genetic make up and that of future
generations (e.g. GMOs).
7. Other gender-related issues to the right to adequate
food include unequal pay for equal work and gender
gap in access to work. Gender disparity in wages
persists. Gender stereotyping in the labor force is also
an issue that affects the income divide between male
and female. Women are invisible in productive labor
especially in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry
sectors, where household labor are mobilized. It
is only the fathers as heads of the family that are
recognized and given a formal wage. This results in
lower per capita income because of the invisibility of
women labor in the value chain.
8. The invisibility of women’s reproductive labor means
invisibility of small-scale farming, their roles in fishing,
etc. It also impacts on their reproductive health and
rights as it relates to poverty, particularly the lack of
specific social protection programs for people who
do reproductive labor, most specially women. It
limits access and control of resources, e.g. land rights,
evictions from homes and from sources of livelihood.
The non-recognition of women’s productive work as
farmers leads to their losing legal rights to own or co-
own land and other resources.
9. Women are also excluded or have limited participation
(particularly the marginalized women) in policy-
making bodies, making them lose their right to decide
on matters affecting them. Their perspective is not
integrated in mainstream policies.
10. As a way forward, there is an urgent need to strengthen
legal framework for the right to adequate food and
gender equality by declaring them as legitimate rights.
The government must ensure the implementation
of the Magna Carta of Women and other laws that
promote gender equality; breastfeeding; sustainable
agriculture, and diversified farming systems. Social
protection policies must ensure recognition of
women’s productive and reproductive role. There
must be an active promotion of consumers’ welfare
by advocating for food safety and more nature based
food; and, women’s perspectives must be integrated in
socio economic development.
Plenary Session:
Conchita Masin: Our unity to push for the

fulfillment of CARPER must
not be fixed on the size of land
or hectarage for distribution; it
should also be on how to achieve
adequate food. But how do we
achieve the right to adequate food
when support and information
has not reached the majority?
Ric Reyes: I agree with the idea of

Conchita but not totally regarding
the size of land for distribution
under CARPER. We also need to
consider the size of the land since
it is provided by law as targets.
Productivity of the land is another
thing which need immediate
support from the government.
In the Philippines, women
know more about production and
cost of production. The reality in
the rural areas is that the women
farmers keep the managerial
functions of farming. They have
the innate capacity to handle the
nitty gritty and budgeting of farm
production compared to their
male counterparts. The sorry state
is that they remain invisible in the
production environment.
Omi Royandoyan: Only 10% of the Philippine
rice producers have 3 or more
hectares of productive land, the
remaining percentage has below 3
hectares ownership and they live
below poverty line. Thus, there
is a need to diversify production
but we need a substantial amount
of support from the government.
This would be impossible with
the latest development within
the agrarian support agencies of
the government. The Department
of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is to
be dismantled by 2014 and will
transfer its important services to
the Department of Agriculture
(DA) which in turn has a substantial
budget for rice production that
has not trickled down to the small
farmers. Currently the government
is not planning any subsidy except
for the Conditional CashTransfer (CCT).
Our advocacy towards
property rights is not sufficient
to address the problems small
farmers are facing; we need to
devise a holistic approach to the
issue of land and production.
Martin Remppis: Since women and girls are

more affected by hunger than
men and boys, it is imperative for
the realization of the Right to
Adequate Food that gender

justice is considered and reflected
in the policy strategies. Gender
justice goes beyond women’s
empowerment because it can
only be achieved if men change
their habits. Therefore we need
more men getting involved in
gender justice initiatives and
strategies have to be developed
that include the change of
attitude and behavior of men.
In Latin America, BftW funds
“masculinity workshops” for
men who discuss their role and
contributions in the struggle for
more gender justice.
Ed Mora: Right to food has always
referred to the poor, meaning,
it has not affected the rich. If the
rich says “there’s poverty”, the
world would listen to them and
the statement will have impact.
Maybe let’s consider this strategy
when campaigning for the right to
adequate food in the future.
Mike Udtohan: The expectation of this

conference is to come up with
policy recommendations. The
Right to Adequate Food is
situated as central to our struggle
but there are also many policies
related to food that need also to be
addressed like gender, production,
technology, etc. The issue on the
right to food becomes too big and
we may run out of focus in terms of
policy recommendations.
Sandra Salidatan: I have not heard of any data
regarding Moro or IP and on the
Voluntary Offer to Sell. Most of
us need more education on this,
particularly on how these issues
are interpreted from the Islam
point of view.
Roxanne Local Government Units
Veridiano: particularly in the rural areas do
not really know about gender and
women issues and concerns. How
can we force local governments
to implement existing laws?
Pat Gonzales: We have so many
breakthrough laws on women yet
the common experience is the lack
of implementation. These laws
provide us the environment but
there is a lack of internalization
on the part of the LGUs on
women and gender.
With respect to differences
in faith and culture, we have to
recognize these existing cultures
to forward our advocacy on
women. These cultures are not
actually anti-women. Knowing

and recognizing the different
approaches based on specific
culture and tradition must
be enhanced to determine
effectiveness of our advocacy.
Omi Royandoyan: All the questions raised in
the plenary are all very good but
they are best responded to by
government representatives. The
panel today is all critical of the
government. One thing I think is
that we do not have critical mass
to influence policies and push for
their implementation. There is
no strong social movement and
we have not covered most ground.
Government position is to shift
to hybrid production to achieve
rice sufficiency. We cannot venture
on organic production on our own,
we need strong support from the
government but this is not heeded.
One of the reasons why the
government says NO to organic
production is because it is too
expensive. This is further worsened
by the government’s desire to
follow all the dictates of GATT-
WTO. There is no critical mass
to help us assert our points which
is needed towards the reversal of
economic policies to experience the
effectiveness of reforms.
Dr. Nymia Simbulan
Panel Discussion II:

Speaker 1:
SOCIAL PROTECTION
AND THE RIGHT TO ADEQUATE FOOD
By Dr. Nymia Pimentel Simbulan
Executive Director, PhilRights
Professor, University of the Philippines Manila
1. The right to adequate food is essential for a life in

dignity. No human being will grow and develop his/
her physical attributes, intellectual and psychological
potentials, and even spiritual make-up, without the
right to adequate food being realized and promoted.
Every human being possesses this inalienable right
which is interrelated and interconnected with other
human rights like the right to life, education, health,
work, housing, freedom of expression, peaceful
assembly and association, and freedom of religion.
2. The right to adequate food is indispensable for the
enjoyment of all human rights. Likewise, the non-
fulfilment of the right is a consequence of the violations

of other rights like the right to work, education and
health.
3. The Philippines recognizes the right to adequate
food of every Filipino citizen being a State Party
to the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), CRC, CRPWD &
CEDAW. But it has not been effectively realized
as evidenced in the factors and conditions leading
to the violation of the right to food particularly on
how government designs its National Development
Paradigm. Historically, the government has
pursued a neo-liberal development framework and
model anchored on such policies as liberalization,
privatization and deregulation.
a. Land conversion policy, e.g. aquaculture, biofuels,
cash crops;
b. Liberalization as reflected in the extractive
industry particularly mining, displacement of local
enterprises and local producers due to uncontrolled
entry of imported tariff-free goods, e.g. agricultural
products, livestock and poultry products, fish, dairy
products, etc.;
c. Destruction of the environment and sources of
livelihood due to activities and/or projects like
mining, logging, dam and hydroelectric power
construction, aerial spraying, overfishing, intensive
use of chemical inputs, etc.;
d. Commodification of the “commons”, e.g. water,
nature;
e. Export-oriented economy, e.g. high-value crops;
4. Another factor is the snail-paced and problematic

implementation of the CARPER:
a. Landlord resistance resulting in violence;
b. Lack of adequate support services to agricultural
sector like infrastructure, subsidies, inputs,
irrigation, storage facilities, etc.
5. Employment problems are also considered as a factor in
the violation of the right to adequate food. There is the
rising rates of unemployment and underemployment,
low and/or irregular wages; labor contractualization/
casualization; and, the expansion of the informal
economy. Prices of basic commodities have continuously
gone up. The price of rice increased 68% between 2000
and 2008 (DA). Regular milled rice increased to P29.38
per kilo (from P17.59); well-milled rice to P32.71 per
kilo (from P19.45). There is lack of access to information
that will address issues of food quality, food safety and
preparation. We are developing a fast-food or junk food
culture which bombards us with all forms of mass media
ads/commercials and there is the questionable safety of
our street foods.
6. Natural and human-made disasters and calamities also
affect the enjoyment of the right to adequate food.
These results in physical and economic displacements
of families and communities; loss of property, sources
of livelihood; overcrowding in evacuation centers; poor
disaster relief, rehabilitation and support mechanisms
and structures of LGUs. Compounded by the reality
of food monopolies and dynasties in the country (rice
cartels, food traders and middle-persons), the situation
of the right to food is worsened.
7. The situation of the RTAF of the Filipino people

reflects the numerous risks, vulnerabilities and
deprivations brought about by the interplay of
factors and conditions at the local, national and
global levels, making it difficult, if not obstructing,
peoples’ enjoyment of the RTAF and living a life in
dignity. With the worsening state of the peoples’
RTAF brought about by weaknesses, if not failures,
in economic and socio-political environments, lack
or shrinking resources, and capacities, the State is
obligated to take immediate and effective measures in
observing the right to social protection of the people.
8. Social protection is defined as encompassing a wide
range of policies designed to address the risks and
vulnerabilities of individuals and groups, both those
who can and those who cannot work, in order to
help them cope and overcome situations of poverty,
especially when it results from incidents outside their
control. It includes a broad range of instruments
ranging from safety nets, social assistance and social
insurance to mutual and informal risk management.
9. Social protection systems are generally structured
around three main objectives or functions: a)
Contributory or insurance-based schemes, e.g.
Social Insurance – to manage risks that provide
insurance against unemployment, illness, retirement,
and other disruptions to formal employment; b)
Non-contributory schemes or Social Assistance
(like food rations, CCT) - contributing to the
ability of chronically poor people to emerge from
poverty and to challenge oppressive socio-economic
relationships; safety nets to help the poor cope with

shocks, emergencies; c) Social justice – for inclusion,
supporting the less active poor (such as the elderly,
persons with disabilities and children) so that poverty
will not be inherited by the next generation.
10. Social protection policies and programs should adopt
a rights-based approach (RBA) to effectively address
risks, vulnerabilities, discrimination and deprivations
of individuals, peoples and communities. Social
protection system that is rights-based is anchored on
the PANTHER Principles: P- articipation: active, free,
meaningful participation of rights holders in all decision
making process, especially those affecting their rights; A-
ccountability: making rights holders exercise their rights
responsibly and duty bearers fulfill their obligations;
States and other duty bearers to be answerable for the
observance of human rights; N-on-discrimination and
Equality: no one is left out, marginalized, unaccounted
for in the development process, i.e. programs, services,
information, participation, etc.; T- ransparency: ensuring
access to information; being open and above board in
running government affairs; no secrets or under the table
dealings; H- uman Dignity: overcoming claimholders’
vulnerabilities; treated with respect and as a human person;
putting up safeguards to prevent discrimination; E-
mpowerment: Meaningful participation in government
affairs, i.e. decision making, formulation of policies,
programs, implementation, monitoring and evaluation;
exercising power; R- ule of Law: fighting impunity,
access to justice, claiming the right of reparation; effective
mechanisms of redress.
11. Essential elements of social protection programs

include: a) Assistance for health care, sickness, old
age, unemployment, employment injury, family and
child support, maternity, disability and survivors and
orphans; b) Level of benefits must be adequate, and
the qualifying conditions for the benefits must be
reasonable, proportionate, transparent and accessible
to those who are entitled to them; c) Targeting system
should be based on the principles of equality and
non-discrimination; d) Access to accurate, complete,
up-to-date information is important; e) Peoples’
meaningful participation is paramount; f) Availability
and accessibility of mechanisms for redress.
12. In the FAO study conducted by Rosemarie Edillon on
social protection and RTAF, the following forms of
social protection have been identified to be present in
the Philippines:
• Labor market programs (labor exchange services,
training, employment generation, unemployment
insurance, labor standards)
• Social assistance (Micro and area-based scheme,
Micro-insurance, Disaster management, Social
funds)
• Social insurance (old age, disability, death, sickness,
maternity, medical care, work injury)
• Child Protection (Family allowance)
• Production-based entitlement: (Seed subsidy
program, agricultural insurance - Philippine Crop
Insurance Corporation (PCIC))
• Labor-based entitlement: (Unemployment benefit
for public employees (GSIS), Unemployment
Loan Fund (Pag-ibig), Unemployed workers can

seek assistance of Public Employment Service
Office (PESO) – DOLE, LGUs and TESDA
for job facilitation and training, Promotion of
Rural Employment (PRESEED), Kalinga sa
Manggagawa (Workers Microfinance Program),
Kasanayan at Hanapbuhay (KasH), Tulong Alalay
sa Taong May Kapansanan, Social Amelioration
Program (SAP) for sugar workers, Self–
Employment Assistance – Kaunlaran (SEA–K)
project - technical assistance and seed capital to
poor families, entrepreneurial skills development,
Cash/Food for Work Program, Work-at-Home
Program – run by the National Council for the
Welfare of Disabled Persons, Coconut Farmers
Safety Net Program -- aims to provide employment
and livelihood as well as social protection and
security among the rural poor)
• Trade-based entitlement: (Food subsidies/aid, Rice
Price Subsidy Program -- “Tindahan Natin” (Our
Store) -- provides low-priced but good quality
rice and noodles identified/endorsed by DSWD,
LGU, Barangay Council, NFA Rice Procurement
Program)
• Transfer-based entitlement: (Conditional cash
transfers [4Ps] of the DSWD, Senior Citizens
Medicine and Food Discounts, Food for School
Program -- food subsidy for pupils in Grade I, pre-
school and day care centers, and who belong to poor
families in identified vulnerable municipalities or
priority areas within regions of the Philippines.)
13. Looking at the situations of social protection in

the Philippines in relation to the right to food,
the following are seen as gaps to the effective
implementation of programs: a) Problematic
targeting system; b) Limited/low coverage, e.g. IPs,
PWDs, elderly, out-of-school youth (exclusion),
c) Limited information dissemination of SP
programs, d) Disjointed/fragmented programs, lack
of coordination among implementing government
agencies; e) Insufficient budget; f) Lack of
meaningful peoples’ participation in program
development, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation; g) Lack of transparency in program
implementation.
14. Based on the perceived gaps, rights-holders
are challenged to conduct deeper and broader-
reaching human rights education; develop further
its capacities in claiming rights through monitoring
and documentation of HRVs, accessing and utilizing
redress and grievance mechanisms and structures –
local, national and international levels, participation
in program and policy development, organizing and
organizational strengthening, international solidarity
work and networking. Duty-holders likewise must
be educated on human rights and the rights based-
approach to development; capability-building
in fulfilling HR obligations, e.g. passage of laws,
effective implementation of laws and policies, training
of judiciary on the justiciability of the RTAF and
other ESC rights, etc.; strengthening linkages and
collaboration with NGOs, Pos.
Speaker 2:
CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOOD SECURITY
By Dr. Laura David
Deputy Director, UP MSI
1. Based on the study on protein consumption, the global

average intake is 16kg a year. In the Philippines the
figure is doubled to 30kg a year per person. Marine
resources contribute a significant portion to the food
supply of the Philippines. 56% of Filipinos’ protein
requirement is sourced from seafood while 44% is
taken from inland sources.
2. The images below show a comparative presentation
between the available supplies of our marine resources
as against the demands for food of the population.
3. The burgeoning population poses a grave threat to food
security of the country. The images below capture the
interplay of supply and demand based on the present
situation (base-line data) as projected in the year 2040.
124 ٠ PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT Proceedings
4. It is considered by marine sciences that a small rise of sea level temperature affects the diversity
of marine culture. The image below highlights this impact of climate change in the country
by cluster.
5. Temperature, increased variability of precipitation, sea level rise, therefore have implications
on coastal health and food security in the Philippines. Coral reefs have repeatedly been
adversely affected by extreme temperature resulting in what is known as mass coral bleaching;
sea grass get buried when extreme rain events bring in high loads of sediments from the
watersheds into the coastal seas; and mangrove seedlings are extremely sensitive to the height
of sea level. Overall, fisheries are expected to decline with adverse impacts on food security.
6. Mariculture offers a pragmatic solution. Republic Act 8550 (The Philippine Fisheries Code of
1998) is a legal instrument that encourages and supports the establishment of mariculture facilities in
waters of all coastal municipalities. There is however, no established protocol on how these parks will
be established. This is highlighted with the example of how Mariculture Park of Bolinao suffered
some fish-kills due to obstruction of the flow of water oxygen in fish cages.
THE BOLINAO MARICULTURE TIMELINE
1999: Water
Bolinao Quality
Municipal Monitoring
Fisheries Teams MERSys
Ordinanc training
e
1980’s
1970’s
1990’s
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Php 500M loss Php 100M loss Php 50M loss

Boom of >1600 structures Increase in SST Low D.O. ,
mariculture P. minimum bloom Neap tide
èOxygen depletion
Clear Caquiputan Advocacy
٠127
7. Based on the experience of the fisherfolks in

Bolinao they are forced to understand the science
of mariculture, appreciate the timely education,
implement drastic changes to arrest losses in their
business and comply with the law. These responses
are reactions to the impact of fishkills in their areas.
8. Potential for fish kills is exacerbated by too many
structures in the water. Their response to this external
stress (ushered by too many structures in the water)
is to clear Caquiputan channel. Meaning, transfer
some cages that obstruct the channel’s flow of oxygen.
Excessive fish feed also compromise nearby habitats
and associated productivity, thus clear education on
the mode of feeding is the immediate solution to
lessen the impact of fish kills.
9. Contributing factors to fish kills include warming
waters, harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, eutrophication,
reduced flushing rates [EXTERNAL STRESS].
Moreover, each action leading to a fish kill not only
affects the mariculture industry but also compromises
the ability of the surrounding benthic and pelagic
habitat to be resilient to any additional pressures
[POTENTIAL IMPACT].
10. Potential sites for mariculture must consider
the following: a) fish kills happen in areas more
prone to sudden rise of sea temperature (SST);
b) mariculture must be away from reefs and
seagrasses; not in mangrove forests and not in areas
of high entrainment. If the country is to make a
concerted effort to secure our source of food, its
planning and management of its mariculture need
Dr. Laura David
to be science-based. It should take action towards

reduction of demand, protection of catch supply,
and smart mariculture site selection. Finally, there
is an urgent need to implement HB 5202 or The
Environmental Assessment for Aquaculture in
Lakes and Inland Water Act of 2011.
There was no open forum on the panel discussion

#2 due to time constraints. Day one of the Conference
was concluded with some reminders from the
organizers.
Day Two
Day Two of the National Conference on the Right to

Adequate Food (RTAF) was opened with some cultural
presentations. The second day was facilitated by Ms.
Aurea M. Teves in the morning and by Mr. Martin
Remppis in the afternoon.
Maria Socorro Diokno
Panel Discussion III:
Speaker 1:
TOWARDS A NATIONAL
FOOD FRAMEWORK LAW
FOR THE PHILIPPINES
By Maria Socorro Diokno,
Secretary-General, FLAG
1. Ms. Diokno opened her presentation on the topic on

what should be the minimum content of a Philippine
Food Framework Law. A framework law should have
a clear: a) Declaration of Policy; b) Targets or Goals;
c) Strategies or Methods to Achieve Targets or Goals;
d) Institutional Responsibility and Mechanisms; e)
Avenues for Recourse; f) Resources; and, g) National
Mechanism for Monitoring.
2. In its declaration of policy, the Philippines should

explicitly recognize the right to adequate food as a
fundamental human right. Right to adequate food
is defined as freedom and entitlement (beyond
a minimum set of calories, proteins and other
nutrients); and, the purpose of the law is to realize
the right to adequate food of every Filipino. Its
targets or goals should clearly be time bound or
with concrete time-frames on issues of eradication
of hunger, improvements in nutrition, elimination of
gender disparity in access to food/resources for food,
and sustainable use and management of natural and
other resources for food. Its strategies or methods
should be based on the normative content and
corresponding obligations of the Right to Adequate
Food, food accessibility (prevent discrimination in
access), food availability, and food safety. Examples of
food accessibility include enlarging women’s access to,
and control over, benefits from productive resources,
including credit, land, water and appropriate
technologies; recognition and explicit reference to
gender-based decision making and gender division
of labor in food production, preparation, distribution
and consumption.
3. Food accessibility would mean: a) Protecting all
persons living with HIV from losing their access
to resources, food and assets; b) Developing small-
scale local and regional markets; c) Preventing
uncompetitive practices in markets; d) Developing
corporate social responsibility and stressing human
rights responsibilities of business; e) Addressing
unjustified barriers to international trade in food and

agriculture; f) Establishing well functioning internal
marketing, storage, transportation, communication
and distribution systems; g) Improving access to
land, water, appropriate and affordable technologies,
productive and financial resources; h) Investing in
rural infrastructure, education, health and social
security; and, i) Improving access to the labor market.
4. Food availability would mean: a) Improving domestic
production, trade, storage and distribution facilities;
b) Investing in productive activities, mobilizing public
and private domestic savings, developing appropriate
credit policies, providing credits in concessional
terms and increasing human capacity; c) Adopting
and implementing effective legal and regulatory
framework; d) Adopting sound economic, agriculture,
fisheries, forestry, land use, and land reform policies;
e) Rationalizing Philippine food laws and policies; f)
Enforcing conservation and sustainable management
of natural resources; g) Undertaking agricultural
research and development, extension, marketing,
rural finance and microcredit towards basic food
production; h) Promoting and protecting security
of land tenure, and conservation and sustainable use
of land; i) Promoting conservation and sustainable
use of genetic resources for food and agriculture; j)
Maintaining ecological sustainability and carrying
capacity of ecosystems to ensure increased,
sustainable food production, prevent water pollution,
protect fertility of the soil, and promoting sustainable
management of fisheries and forestry.
5. Food safety examples include: a) Establishing
comprehensive and rational food-control systems
in the entire food chain, including animal feed;
b) Streamlining institutional procedures for food
control and food safety, eliminating gaps and
overlaps in inspection systems and in legislative and
regulatory framework; c) Adopting scientifically
based food safety standards, including standards
for additives, contaminants, residues of veterinary
drugs and pesticides, and microbiological
hazards; d) Establishing standards for packaging,
labeling and advertising of food; e) Preventing
contamination from industrial and other pollutants
in the production, processing, storage, transport,
distribution, handling and sale of food; f) Providing
adequate protection of consumers against
fraudulent market practices, misinformation,
unsafe food, deception and misrepresentation in
packaging, labeling, advertising and sale of food;
g) Establishing food safety systems and supervisory
mechanisms to ensure the provision of safe food
to consumers, including provision of assistance
to farmers and other primary producers to follow
good agricultural practices, food processors to
follow good manufacturing practices, and food
handlers to follow good hygiene practices; h)
Providing education on safe practices for food
business operators, safe storage, handling and use
within the household for consumers, and on food-
borne diseases and food safety matters for general
public; i) Adopting and implementing measures
to maintain, adapt or strengthen dietary diversity

and healthy eating habits and food preparation, as
well as feeding patterns, including breastfeeding; j)
Preventing overconsumption and unbalanced diets;
k) Promoting healthy eating though food programs,
home and school gardens, food fortification policies
and programs; l) Adopting and implementing special
measures to address specific food and nutritional
needs of persons living with HIV; m) Promoting
and encouraging breastfeeding; n) Disseminating
information on the feeding of infants and young
children; o) Adopting parallel actions in health,
education and sanitary infrastructure; p) Paying
special attention to practices, customs and traditions
on matters related to food.
6. A national framework law on food needs to establish
clear institutional responsibility and mechanisms. In
this manner, the lead agency is identified and clearly
mandated. Mechanisms for inter-agency collaboration
must also be set up, as well as mechanisms for effective
collaboration of all actors in the food sector. The
mechanisms under the framework law can be avenues
for recourse for those discriminated through access,
for those without security of land tenure, recourse
for unfair trade competition and for harm caused by
unsafe food.
7. To make the framework law work on its mandate,
allocation of appropriate funds must be made together
with identification of sources of funds. Specific rules or
guidelines on fund use, management and liquidation
must be ensured.
8. A National Mechanism for Monitoring or maybe a
“National Coordinating Committee for Food” or
similar body must be set up.
9. There are two approaches in undergoing the process of
coming up with a national framework law. First, build
national consensus and support for a framework law;
and, second, adopt the framework law. Both approaches
require conscious and conscientious application of
PANTHER principles. Both approaches should be
based on thorough human rights based analysis of
the hunger situation and food context. In building
a national consensus around the framework law one
must build a campaign around the right to adequate
food, adopt multiple strategies and participatory
activities, engage those with adverse opinions without
resorting to unproductive confrontation and to
remember that the people’s voice matters.
10. In adopting a law, first draft a national food framework
law with clear orientation of what are the non-
negotiable provisions. The draft shall be subjected to
multiple public validations; identify then engage with
legislative champions; provide technical expertise to
legislators through position papers, research materials,
legislative briefings, etc; and, attend congressional
hearings and meetings and participate in technical
working groups; learn lobby skills and undertake
lobby activities; and, track legislators’ positions
on the draft. Everybody must remember that this
approach requires flexibility. Lawmaking is largely a
negotiation, so be prepared to give in when necessary
while standing firm on your bottom lines.
Speaker 2:
ENGAGING GOVERNMENT
TO IMPLEMENT RTAF:
THE ROLE OF HRBA IN CAPACITY BUILDING
By Max de Mesa
Chairperson, PAHRA
1. As a prelude to his talk, Mr. Max de Mesa presented

the case of Tampakan mining in Mindanao to
highlight the need for capacitating individuals
and communities to engage government in the
implementation of the Right to Adequate Food.
2. The Tampakan Project is a 2.4 billion metric
ton deposit, containing 13.5 million metric tons
of copper and 15.8 million ounces of gold at a
0.3 % cut-off grade. The Project is operated
by Philippine-based affiliate Sagittarius Mines,
Max de Mesa
Inc. (SMI) -- a joint venture between Xstrata

Copper and Indophil Resources. It is located
in Mindanao, approximately 40 kms. north of
General Santos City. Situated at the boundaries
of four provinces: South Cotabato, Sarangani,
Sultan Kudarat and Davao del Sur. It is one of the
world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits
in the Southeast Asia-Western Pacific Region.
3. SMI will clear 3,935 hectares of forest and arable
lands when it starts mining operations. It will
build its mine tailings facilities near one of the
tributaries of Mal River, the biggest river system
in the Tampakan-Columbio area. The mine’s life
is expected to reach 70 years with more than US$
5.4B in needed investments. SMI has allegedly
spent more than P10 billion for exploration and
other activities since 2000.
4. More than 1,000 families, majority of them
belonging to the B’laan tribe, will be displaced and
relocated once the company begins commercial
operations. SMI promised to provide scholarships,
livelihood programs and whatever it is that they need
or would help in their development. The common
perception of the B’laan community is that they
would not be affected by the operations. “As long
as their ancestral lands would not be affected, they
were willing to support the mining company as it
provides incentives that the communities need.”
5. Damage to critical watersheds would leave
thousands of farmers and fishermen with no
means to earn a living. The mine development
would draw down the capacity of catchments
that supply drinking water and irrigation water
to NIA irrigation systems that sustain 200,000
hectares of agricultural land for 80,000 farmers
in South Cotabato alone. The Tampakan project
estimates a water requirement rate of 908 liters
per second.
6. The mining project proposes to store 1.65 billion
tons of waste rock and 1.1 billion tons of tailings
in areas of high seismic activity. The open pit will
not be back filled and the billions of tons of acid
generating waste rocks and wet tailings will require
management in perpetuity. “The Tampakan
mine has a high potential for loss of life and high
environmental damage if a failure of dams or rock
storage facilities occurs”. (Goodland and Wick
2010)
7. If SMI is allowed to operate, it would destroy
the environment and contaminate the river
systems. It would dry up the irrigation system
in the lowlands and the aquifers in General
Santos and nearby Koronadal City (according to
the Catholic Church in South Cotabato). The
mine areas are found atop the headwaters of
all the big rivers that drain into five provinces
namely South Cotabato, Sarangani, Davao del
Sur, Sultan Kudarat, and Maguindanao, and the
cities of General Santos and Koronadal. Any
degradation in this region will potentially result in
the increased siltation of the rivers, a decrease in the
water level and a high risk of being contaminated
The Rights-Based Approach
Obligations Arising from Right to Adequate Food
٠141
by toxic materials coming from the mine

operation upstream (according to Catherine
Abon, Geologist, UP NIGS).
8. In engaging government on the right to adequate
food, we must first know our rights; know the
State obligations; and, build our capabilities.
The following international documents may
help us inform our rights: UDHR, General
Comments, ICCPR, ICESCR, CRC, CEDAW,
ON MIGRANTS, CERD, CAT, PWD, etc.
9. There are three-fold obligations of the State on
human rights. The obligation to respect requires
the state to refrain from doing anything to violate
the integrity of individuals. It is a prohibition
against state action and interference depriving
an individual from enjoying human rights. The
obligation to protect refers to state actions to
prohibit third parties (including business) or
others from violating
a person’s rights. This is usually through policy and

legislative measures that regulate actions of third
parties to ensure protection of the human rights of
individuals. The obligation to fulfill (facilitate or
promote) requires states to take the necessary steps
to adopt laws and other measures aimed at achieving
full realization of human rights. This obligation
to provide exists during natural disasters, wars and
crisis situations where the individuals, peoples and
communities live in circumstances where they cannot
secure these rights.
10. Engaging the State on its obligations means knowing
the relevant laws, policies and programs related to the
implementation and/or violation of the right to food.
It means engaging the Philippine Government in its
three Branches: the Executive, the Legislative and the
Judiciary; the National Government and its Executive
Departments and Agencies; the Local Government
Units and the local agencies and courts
11. The legislative process of the Philippine Congress
follows the filing and first reading of a proposed bill.
After it is accepted, it goes to the committee in charge
for hearing and reporting for the second reading and
third reading. After the bill passes the third reading,
a bicameral committee shall take charge of making
versions of both houses on the bill coherent.
12. Human rights based capacity building points to skills
development on data gathering, documentation and
analysis, training people to do their own data gathering,
documentation and analysis, HR Education Trainors’
Training for people and communities.
13. There are existing studies on people’s participation in
the Local Development Councils which we can access
for information regarding engagement with LGUs.
In 2001 November - Study on People’s Participation
in the LDCs by the DILG in collaboration with
the Urban Resources and the EBJF, supported by
AusAid and the Phil-Australian Governance Facility
(PAGF). In 2010 November – A Look at Participatory
Governance in the Philippines, a rapid survey was
conducted by Code-NGO and PhilDHRRA and
was presented during the Social Development Week
celebration of Code-NGO.
14. There are enabling policy framework for participation
in the Philippines. First, the 1987 Constitution
institutionalized the role of NGOs and POs in
Philippine development. Article II, Sec. 23 provides
that “the state shall encourage non-governmental,
community-based or sectoral organizations that
promote the welfare of the nation”. Article XIII,
Sec. 15 provides that “the State shall respect the
role of independent people’s organizations.” Article
XIII, Sec. 16 provides that “the right of the people
and their organizations to effective and reasonable
participation at all levels of social, political and
economic decision making shall not be abridged.
The state shall, by law facilitate the establishment of
adequate consultation mechanisms.” Secondly, in the
1991 Local Government Code, Chapter 4., Sec. 35
– “LGUs should establish strong relations with the
peoples’ and non-government organizations on the
delivery of certain basic services, capacity building
and livelihood projects and local enterprises. CSOs

shall also be represented in the Local Special Bodies
(LSBs) to assist LGUs in planning and decision
making. Sections 106-115, LGC – defines the local
planning bodies to consist of the Local Development
Council and Barangay Development Councils as
the mandated local planning bodies, the Executive
Committee to represent the LDC when it is not
in session, the Secretariat to provide technical and
administrative support, and the Sectoral or functional
committees that will provide substantial inputs to the
LDC and is more continually engaged in all stages of
the planning and development processes.
15. There are also DILG Policy Issuances in support of

the 1991 LGC provisions for peoples’ participation
namely: DILG MC-89, s. 2001; JMC # 1, s. 2007;
DILG MC 114, s. 2007; DILG Rationalized Planning
System – 2008; DILG MC – 73 s. 2010.
16. Using available information and existing framework,
we may venture into organizing and some converging
points. Particularly, we may venture into HRD
formations, enhancing and maximizing Barangay
Human Rights Action Centers (BHRACs), Federations
of BHRACs. We may come into convergence at the
territorial levels especially on the issue of the right to
food using a multi-disciplinary approach and this is of
crucial importance.
17. The impact of climate change may lead us to consider
some new approaches and ideas in pushing for the
realization of the right to food. One innovation is the
Watershed Approach. This is about “protection of the
quality and supply of freshwater resources; application
of integrated approaches to the development,
management and use of water resources” (Chapter
18 of the Agenda 21). We all live in a watershed
and we believe that a watershed planning approach
is the most effective framework to address the
complex issues of the mining industry and above all
food and water security in the context of looming
climate change impacts. With Climate Change as the
“new normal,” a watershed approach to adaptation,
mitigation, anticipation and disaster management
where the forests and minerals are mostly located will
be beneficial. A concerted and integrated effort using
the watershed as the planning domain is necessary.
Landslide and flooding do not respect administrative
boundaries or local jurisdictions.
18. Ecosystems are especially important for developing
countries, where the livelihoods of many people
depend directly on healthy ecosystems. It may be

good to consider adopting Total Economic Valuation
(TEV) and Wealth Accounting and Valuation of
Ecosystem Services (WAVES) which is an integration
of TEV and natural capital accounting. WAVES is an
initiative of the World Bank which is supportive of
“responsible mining”. WAVES is a comprehensive
wealth management approach to long-term sustainable
development that includes all assets – manufactured
capital, natural capital, human and social capital. The
methodological framework is the UN’s System of
Environmental and Economic Accounting (SEEA)
developed over the past 20 years. WAVES can
contribute to poverty reduction. Valuation of ecosystem
services will enable better management of ecosystems.
Natural resources are an important asset for the
poor. Improving the productivity of natural assets
can lead to poverty reduction by allowing the poor to
accumulate assets of their own if economic activities
based on natural resources are not “employment of
the last resort”. Ecosystem accounting will also enable
the measurement of who benefits and who bears the
costs of ecosystem changes. This is essential for careful
policy design so that the poor (who lack complementary
private assets) also benefit from improved productivity.
19. In engaging government on the right to food, we may
maximize the upcoming elections to better know how
candidates would help us realize this. That candidates
integrate human rights as preferred values in governance
and development planning will make human rights
the basis of their governance and of their development
plans; that they will develop their own local human

rights plan in coordination with the national HR plan
of action; they will educate and train the security
forces under their jurisdiction from a human rights
perspective; they will establish and/or strengthen the
formation of human rights defenders; esp. in difficult
areas and situations, including the Barangay Human
Rights Action Centers; they will sponsor resolutions
and plans relating the 9 international HR instruments,
which the State ratified, and implement these
instruments in their own areas of responsibilities;
they will appoint a human rights officer or set up a
human rights desk or committee that will oversee the
implementation of human rights, among others, in
governance, security activities, public school curricula
and in development plans during the candidates’
terms of office and then will serve as liaison to civil
society’s human rights defenders’ formations. We
can also make use of the existing international and
regional human rights mechanisms.
Open Forum:
Mike Udtohan: The objective of this

conference is to come up
with policy recommendations
on RTAF. Is there any way
of consolidating all related
laws on food so as to have a
holistic approach? Secondly,
are there other countries’ food
framework laws?
Cookie Diokno: I don’t know of other

country’s food framework law
but there is already a study
on all food related laws in the
Philippines. The study found
out that our laws on food are
not harmonized; while, others
need to be repealed. The study
recommendations have been
there since 2008. Among our
existing laws, food safety is very
strong but food security and
accessibility is questionable.
Even as there is study or research
on this, we still do not have a
framework law. All we have are
a million and one laws.
Flavio Valente: Brazil has a national
framework law on the Right to
Adequate Food. RTAF is part of
the constitution, thus a national
framework law is a must. FAO
has a study on existing laws and
jurisprudence of various countries
on RTAF which we can access.
Monitoring and governance
are important in the aspect
of coming up with a national
framework law. Also, a broad
popular support of people and
stakeholders makes the law
work. In our struggle for the
right to adequate food, we must
all carry the whole gamut

of rights. RTAF can be an
opening for the realization of
all rights for all; and nutrition
must be present throughout the
discussion on food to make it a
complete package.
Cookie Diokno: In the Philippines, we have
the whole cluster on poverty.
For our purposes we have to
point out the lead agencies to
determine clearly the state’s
responsibilities.
Max de Mesa: There is no “Right to Food”
program despite the glaring
situation of hunger in the
Philippines. It is not even in the
National Human Rights Action
Plan or NHRAP.
Flavio Valente: The leading agency must be
beyond poverty or food.
Martin Remppis: There is a successful RTF-
campaign in India in the form
of litigation or legal court battle.
India’s government is in the
process of getting a National
Food Security Bill approved and
presently there is a strong debate
on the content of the bill. The
original idea of the bill is exactly
to have a right to adequate food
legal framework. However the
considered bill drafts are rather
disappointing and unfortunately

the RTF-Campaign has only
some general demands but is not
prepared to tell the government
how a legal framework bill
should look like. What can we
learn from our Indian friends:
If we demand a RTAF-legal
framework law, we should also
formulate its content details
and advise the government
accordingly. For this we’ll need
legal advice.
Cookie Diokno: But, here in the Philippines,
our court is not exactly an activist
court.
Mike Udtohan: Are we sure and convinced
that the framework law on food
we are drafting is the right one?
Cookie Diokno: It is good that we start this
discussion, which needs deeper
sharing, come up with more
recommendations from people
who are hungry. For who are we
to speak for the people? We are
just here to facilitate.
Ka Elvie Baladad: The National Land Use
Act may be one of the laws
we could use as framework to
harmonize all laws on food in the
Philippines. If we do not protect
our land, we cannot talk about
food sufficiency. We cannot talk of
market without product. Mining has

even encroached into our irrigated
lands. This is the experience in
McArthur municipality.
Cookie Diokno: Just a caution. Our
framework must not fall into
a market-oriented framework.
We have to ensure that the
orientation of our framework
law is protection of the rights
and not economics and market
primarily.
I cannot comment on your
draft bill on land use since I have
not seen it and have not read it.
Patricia Gonzales: I really believe w e
need a framework law
for implementation of state
obligations. What a framework
law must have is a moral
persuasion just like in Brazil.
Sophia Schmitz: What was the relationship
of mining and food from the
presentation of Max de Mesa?
Max de Mesa: It was used to usher in the
need and struggle for a rights-
based approach in development.
Wilson Fortaleza: Th e rea son w e ha v e
disjointed, unharmonized laws
especially on food is due to the
fact that we have no framework
law on food which could be also
under the broader issue of social
p ro tectio n w hic h w e a re
all entitled to enjoy.
Conchita Masin: Unsafe food must be totally

defined in the framework law to
protect and educate mothers of
its harm. Mothers are usually
those that experience hunger
in the Philippines because they
would rather give their food
share to their young, especially
during food scarcity. There is
hunger due to the nutritional
content of what they eat. Safe
and sustainable supply of
food must be ensured in the
framework law.
Cookie Diokno: We also need to review our
food fortification programs in
line with food safety standards. It
is unthinkable for a valueless junk
food to be promoted because it is
fortified with vitamin.
Max de Mesa: The Local Government
Units may also make ordinances
to encourage local production
of safe and healthy food and
provide local market for them.
Starj Villanueva: Our organization is leading
a campaign on land rights and
food sovereignty. We conducted
research on it to back up our
advocacy. We observe though
that during dialogues with
government agencies through
the “National Convergence
Initiatives” that they just talk
about the issue and do nothing
about it if not forget it. Thus,
there is a need for us to build a
strong local resistance and to
strengthen solidarity as a strategy.
Dennis Revagorda: Most of the targeted
beneficiaries of the anti-poverty
programs in the local levels
are not reached. How would
we incorporate the question
of governance to the right to
adequate food when duty bearers
are remiss in their obligations?
Aloy Borja: If we ask government officials
today about framework law, they
would immediately claim they
have. But for us, what framework
law are we talking about?
Elsa Novo: We would like to request the
panel to be with us in a forum on
the Right to Adequate Food and
the Indigenous Peoples which
we are organizing at the local
Indigenous Peoples’ communities.
(request granted on the spot.)
Cookie Diokno: The National Convergence
Initiative or even the attempt to
converge remains a plan. When
it comes to unity, the situation
says not so because we still lack
appreciation of differing positions.
At the local level, clearly, power
corrupts. Thus we need to have
a clear framework to advance our
demands. But, how much can we
do, is a challenge for us all.
Max de Mesa: The framework we are using is
human rights and the obligations
of governments to it. In our
efforts for change we need to hone
our capacities to be more effective.
As CSOs we need to converge not
as an organization but in one clear
framework of unity, the right to
adequate food.
Elvira Quintela
Regional Reporting:
REPORT ON THE
REGIONAL WORKSHOPS ON RTAF
(Luzon/Visayas/Mindanao Integrated Report)
By Elvira Quintela
Project Officer, AFRIM
1. The Regional Workshops on the Right to Adequate

Food (RTAF) were born out of the need for a
national policy on RTAF and the need for broader
stakeholders’ participation in the substantiation and
pressure mobilization for a national policy on RTAF.
The objectives by which the activities were conducted
aims to understand the sectoral and community
situation in relation to RTAF; to identify RTAF
issues/challenges, gaps in interventions and possible
solutions; and to formulate action plans.
2. There were four (4) workshops conducted for RTAF
purposes. Two sectoral workshops for IP women
(Luzon) and Urban poor women (Luzon); two
multi-sectoral workshops conducted in Luzon and
Mindanao. Total participants numbered 52 females
and 16 males.
3. The process by which the workshops were
undertaken follows the presentation of the rationale
and objectives of the right to adequate food. This is
substantiated by inputs and discussions on: poverty
and hunger situation; sectoral situation; RTAF
and related international instruments; and, Ms.
Diokno’s research document. Following inputs
were group workshops on 1) issues/problems;
possible solutions; aspirations and expectations
from the government; 2) formulation of action
plan. This is to extract the ideas and sentiments
of participants on the validity of the issues as being
concretely experienced. Video presentations on
poverty and hunger documentaries capped each
workshop activity.
4. The random summary of the four workshop
activities conducted, identified issues and
problems in each household and community
point to: food insufficiency and where to source
food; unemployment, underemployment,
insufficient income and contractualization of
labor; malnutrition and other health problems;
lack of unity among community/family members;
and the problem of the non-consultative nature
of LGUs on peoples’ needs for livelihoods
or in the implementation of government
projects; conflicts/violence in the community
and household; theft/robbery for food; wrong

beneficiaries of CCT program; slow CARPER and
IPRA implementation, including the reversal of
gains due to exemption claims; land conversions;
encroachment of big businesses on land, forest,
and marine resources; lack of government services
(social and agricultural); no/limited access to
credit; farmers are tied to traders due to high
production cost; corrupt government officials;
marketing problems of farm products (buying
stations and price support), competition (influx
of cheaper agri-products from other countries);
mining and other extractive investments resulted
in environmental destruction and dislocation of
IPs and small farmers; conflicting policies of the
government; export oriented economic policies;
demolition and shelter/housing insecurity; armed
conflicts (resource or ideology-based); calamities
due to improper waste management; calamity
funds have not reached the intended beneficiaries.
5. As to the questions on possible solutions to the
issues and problems they identified, responses
point to the following: a) Employment/livelihood/
extra income opportunities thru enhancement of
local economy; b) Enhancement of community-
based poverty and hunger alleviation strategies
(like sustainable agriculture); c) Employment
security; increased salaries/wages; d) Alternative
livelihood for IPs; e) More support for the
education of children especially IPs; f) Engage
LGUs on project implementation transparency; g)
Free medical services from the government; h) Fast
track implementation of IPRA and CARPER; i)
Lobby for more government social and agricultural
support services delivery (maximizing participation
in various local bodies); j) Enhancing capacities of
peoples organizations for claim making and active
participation in local economy development.
6. Participants in the workshop have one general
aspiration -- to be released from their current situation.
They long for an improved living condition. Such
condition is characterized by:
• Healthy and happy family/community, living
together peacefully and in harmony with nature
• Food always on the table
• Sufficient income to meet family needs
• Secured and conducive house for the family
• Sufficient knowledge and skills on food production
and income generation
• Children are able to go to school
• Empowered women/organizations
• Able to access necessary social and agri-support
services from the government
• Sustained farm production and income
• Access and control over common resources
• State has fulfilled its 7obligations to the people
7. Among the actions participant intended to have for
immediate purposes are: 1) training and education.
This includes particularly topics for women on
vegetable production, household-based income
generating projects, sustainable agriculture and
improved farm productivity, campaign skills
A workshop group
against extractive industries like mining and
continuing education on RTAF, HR, VAWC and
other HR instruments. With these, there are needs
to access funds from LGUs for IGPs, dialogues
with LGU on appropriate relocation sites and
livelihood while continuing protest action on
labor contractualization, pushing for inclusive
government scholarship program, campaigning to
fast track implementation of IPRA and CARPER,
including follow-up of ongoing related cases,
forest and mangrove rehabilitation and monitoring
of government’s agri and aqua projects.
Workshop:
The Conference participants were divided into

five workshop groups to tackle specific issues. Below
are the workshop issues and the facilitators for each
group:
a) Assessment of Vulnerable Groups
Facilitator: Ms. Yifang Tang
b) Advocacy / Litigation
Facilitator: Mr. Ricardo A. Sunga
c) Monitoring of State Performance on Different
Levels
Facilitator: Ms. Roxanne Veridiano
d) Recourse Instruments / Complaint Redressal
Mechanisms
Facilitator: Mr. Bernie Larin
e) Naming & Shaming through Actions + Media
Facilitator: Mr. Bobby Diciembre
Workshop Results:
Workshop I: Assessment of Vulnerable Groups
Who are the vulnerable groups with regard to RTAF?

• IPs/Moro • Women • Fisherfolks
• Farmers • Children/youth • Elderly/PWD
• Rural (interior • HIV/Aids
• Urban Poor
communities) victims
1. In what way are they affected / vulnerable in terms of

RTAF?
a. IPs/Moro – distance, high prices of commodities,
cheap prices of farmer’s produce, encroachment
of mining in IP/Moro areas, existence of big
plantations, militarization, climate change.
b. Farmers -- displacement, LUC, peoples’ reliance
on imported goods over locally produced, high
inputs of farm tools, and usury.
c. Fisherfolks -- climate change, alternative livelihood
d. Children – garbage as source of food among
children in the urban poor communities.
e. PWD – mendicancy, medicine and services from
DOH and DSWD
f. HIV – demoralized, discriminated – need clear and
accessible services from DOH and DSWD
g. Women – Less accessibility, less adequacy, less availability
h. Youth – vices and addiction
i. Street families – informal economy, scavenger
j. Elderly – no social security, unable to access
government social services.
2. How are we responding to the RTAF problems of the
vulnerable groups?
• The government’s responses through
the Department of Social Welfare and
Development’s (DSWD) are food for work
program, CCT and short term livelihood.
The civil society’s initiatives on this problem
are organizing outside of the government
framework.
• The vulnerable groups in the Philippines are the
least prioritized group as the bigger portion of the
government budget (44%) is intended for debt
payment rather than support programs for the
vulnerable groups.
3. What are the gaps in our work / obstacles encountered?
• Lack peoples’ mobilization to push government to
perform its obligations.
• Local patronage policy
A workshop group
• There is no budget for the realization of the Right

to Adequate Food.
• Unemployment
• There is a need for strong unity and solidarity.
Plenary Question/Discussion on Workshop 1 Report:
Max de Mesa: Was there a discussion in

the group on the situation and
gravity of hunger?
Workshop 1: We have not tackled the issue
deeply as we presupposed that
other workshop groups were given
such question to discuss. We were
guided by the workshop questions
prepared by the organizers of this
conference. Though we have not
tackled the gravity of hunger, we
discussed the availability and safety
issues of food.
Juliet Bernales I observed that PWD
(NCIP): group was not included among
the vulnerable sectors. I am
particularly concerned with
PWDs in the rural areas versus
those situated in the urban centers
as services are more accessible
here than in the countryside.
Addendum from Construction of Dams aside
the Workshop from the encroachment of
Group 1: mining projects is included in
the land use conversion.
Workshop 2: Advocacy / Litigation
1. Stocktaking. Are there litigations on RTAF in the

Philippines?
• Not directly as RTAF, but with implications to
RTAF
• Limited to issue identification and calls e.g.
o vs mining (CARAGA) thru Writ of
Kalikasanland rights/ IP claims on ancestral
domain
o vs aerial spraying (Mindanao)agrarian related
cases
o vs seaweed farming (to be filed vs LGU in
Mindanao)
2. What type of litigation are we using?
• Civil cases
• Political cases
• Administrative cases
3. What are the gaps/ problems/ obstacles in
relation to the litigations/ legal recourse of
RTAF violations?
• RTAF is not popular; people lack information
about their rights and available recourse
• Who are we against: big corporations, landlords,
politicians
• Practical terms: costly to pursue a case,
technical requirements, resources (e.g. time,
lawyers, etc.)
• Existing laws used against people who exercise
their claim-making rights (e.g. cases filed against
farmers)
4. What are the initiatives being undertaken?

• Advocacies: AR, IPs, sustainable agriculture,
community-based farming, urban gardening, safe
foods, etc.
• Food Blockade (Compostella Valley)
5. Workshop Group Proposal:
• Framework law on RTAF
• Awareness raising/ education campaign – building
movements from below
• Special Court on RTAF
• Look into existing programs of government where
RTAF can be mainstreamed, e.g., Food Terminals
Addendum from It must be noted that the

Workshop Group 2: Philippines has some good laws
related to the Right to Adequate
Food but the implementation
is problematic.
There is a problem in
litigation, especially for the
groups and individuals being
counter-sued by landlords
or big businesses through
made-up criminal accusations
and offenses. The costs of
bail are so high; and fees for
legal battles are so exorbitant.
These are the experiences of
our agrarian reform cases.
A workshop group
Workshop 3: Monitoring of State Performance on Different

Levels
1. Monitoring Mechanisms in Place.

• Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS)
• Barangay Nutrition Council
• Mandatory Representation for vulnerable sectors
(IP, Women, Peasants, etc.)
• Provincial Agrarian Reform Committee
(PARCOM)
• Go Organic
• Representation of CSOs in Regional Development
Councils
• Parent-Leaders in 4Ps
 Feeding  Nutrition  Gulayan ng

Programs Scholars Bayan
 Relief
 4Ps  FAITH
Distribution
 CBMS  Dams,
 Relief and
(13 core Coal-fired
Rehabilitation
indicators Power Plant,
of poverty) Mining
2. Experiences in Monitoring
• Positive:
– Census of Community-Gender/Sex desegregated
– Environment and Resources at stake
– Valuation of Agricultural Production affected by
Dev’t Projects
– Independent initiatives of NGOs and POs which
make use of Gov’t data, highlighting weaknesses
of Gov’t programs on RTAF
– Sharing with multi-stakeholders
– Holistic Approach e.g. disaster relief and rehab
monitoring
– Continuing Research
• Areas for Improvement:
– Participation of larger population in
formulating indicators to create sense of
ownership from the people; not center-
based
– Expert opinion
– Monitoring mechanism not framed on
RTAF
3. Steps to Ensure Progressive Realization of RTAF
among Claimholders:
• Should know their rights
• Awareness on right to food as integration of other

rights that is not just access or availability of food
but also as nutrition
• Access to information
• Should assert their rights
• Part of development planning process
• Independent CSO monitoring with participation
of claimholders/beneficiaries (Shadow reports,
Counter-SONA) with focus on RTAF guided by
normative content
• Database of CSOs activities
• Use UN international standards in monitoring
rights (water, hunger, nutrition, housing)
• Promotion of indigenous knowledge and socio-
political systems
• Manufacturing nutritious food using indigenous
resources vs importation of junk food
• Use PANTHER principles
4. Challenges
• Alliance work
• Engagement in governance (inside, alongside, outside)
A workshop group
• Assertion of grassroots-based CSOs to counter

GONGOs and BONGOs
Monina Geaga: I failed to notice any discussion

or experiences in relation to data
collection from the government
or its agencies. What is the
general consensus of the group,
are agencies cooperative or not in
terms of access to their data and
information?
Workshop The experiences point to varied
Group3: levels of cooperation from the
government. Sometimes it is very
challenging especially when results
of monitoring are integrated into
the Barangay Development Council
planning.
Workshop 4: Recourse Instruments / Complaint Redressal

Mechanisms
1. What are the existing redress mechanisms, if

any? Or what are the recourse mechanisms
available?
• Available remedies could be divided into two
– administrative (agencies and President) and
judicial (courts) e.g. Writ of Kalikasan
• BFAD – redress mechanism for consumers
• Mining – DENR
• Land use conversion – DAR/DARAB; decides
on land issue and on the application for land
conversion even as there is pending moratorium
on land conversion. Factors to consider depends
on the jurisdiction, the nature of complaint
whether administrative or judicial, identification
of concerned agency and what court. It must be
considered that some services are devolved (LGUs
and national agencies).
• Crop conversion – This is under the mandate of
DA but there is no existing mechanism.
• NFA Procurement – Decides on prices of rice
products yet farmers are at the mercy of traders
• We can also send our policy recommendations
through letters/communication to agencies and
Office of the President
• We can also request for Congressional inquiries
• On the issue of corruption – Ombudsman
mechanism
• Meta-legal tactics and strategies are also forms
of redress mechanisms, e.g. land occupation,
pickets etc
• 4Ps program – problematic in terms of
implementation. Its redress mechanism may be the
DSWD.
• There should also be redress mechanisms for ODA
projects.
2. What are the problems encountered in
accessing available redress mechanisms?
• Ignorance on the process of filing complaints.
• Lack of knowledge about the redress mechanisms

available on the part of marginalized groups
• Criminalization – slapping of cases against those
who are complaining
• Lack of resources – availability of lawyers and
exorbitant court fees
• Harassment and threats prevent victims from
pursuing cases
• The mandate of Public Attorney’s Office is not
clear; it made PAO ineffective in providing services
to victims; PAO services are also costly
• Courts have overloads of cases; backlogs
• Access to existing remedies is tedious and
expensive
• There is also the problem of attitude and incompetence
of people in the government
• Negligence and bias on the part of people in the
agencies
• Bias on the part of LGUs
• Corruption and connivance
• Slow processes in government agencies
• Bureaucratic red tape
• National policies – bias of the national government
(neo-liberal policies)
• Existing mechanisms are manipulated and most are
not effective and not implemented
3. What steps can be taken to address the problems
identified?
• Participation
– Take an active role in crafting and implementation
of policies / redress mechanisms
– Citizen’s participation in the existing redress
mechanisms
– Vigilance on the part of the citizens
– Monitoring
• Education
– Legal literacy or paralegal trainings / human
rights input
– Integrate peoples’ issues, human rights, etc. in
school curriculum
– Training programs on good governance
• Organize
– Organize the victims and then formulate tactics
on how to defend themselves (negotiate, peaceful
resolution of problems)
– Respect and support people’s initiative
– Critical mass / mass movement
• Advocacy
– Partnership with LGUs
– Diplomacy and networking/lobbying with
government agencies and LGUs
– Conscientization of people in the government
– Tap the academe, church and the media
• Push reforms within the government. Streamline
and simplify processes of mechanisms of available
remedies
– Strengthen DA to have redress mechanisms
– Sustain DOJ projects to make justice
accessible, e.g. “justice on wheels,” LGU
mediation,
– Strengthen the local government academy
– Clarify the mandate of PAO
Conchita Masin: I have some doubts about

the proposal of strengthening
government agencies to enable
them to push for redress
mechanism. I would rather
suggest that we strengthen
the communities to push
government to implement
mechanisms. Particularly,
let us strengthen the POs in
the communities to push the
Department of Agriculture or
the Department of Agrarian
Reform to institute reforms;
secondly, lobby CHR to include
RTAF in its mandate.
Workshop Group 4: Yes, the idea of the group
discussion is the same as your
suggestion. Maybe we just have
to reformulate the proposal. We
believe that it is crucial to have a
critical mass.
Max de Mesa: CHR is the watchdog of
the government but it has no
prosecutorial functions or power.
It, however, can recommend
prosecutory actions.
Ricardo Sunga: We should also include
international UN mechanisms
and the ASEAN AICHR as
available venues for redress.
Max de Mesa: The Armed Forces of the
Philippines and the Philippine
National Police have Human
Rights Officers in every camp;
maybe we can push for them
to work by forcing them to
blotter cases of HR violations
committed by the ranks.
Flavio Valente: Civil Society Organizations
should struggle to make all
available mechanisms effective.
We can also make use of available
quasi-judicial recourse by using
institutions to put pressure
on government agencies to
implement their mandates.
CSOs can also push for the
possibility of creating National
Rapporteurship like the UN
system that could link issues and
concerns of the people to CHR
and the Houses of Congress.
Workshop 5: Naming & Shaming through Actions + Media
Overview: Cover conducted research, campaigns and

implemented social actions and how it was
covered by the media (local, national, or
international)
Questions answered:
1. What has been done? (Assessment of effectiveness?
What are the experiences?)
2. What are the risks and how can we minimize them?

3. What are the gaps or problems encountered?
4. How-To: Future planning?
1. Assessment of Effectiveness via experience

 CASE STUDY #1: “People’s Action” Protest and
Rally, MLY activities
Regions covered: Northern Luzon (delegations –
Ilocos, Cagayan, Bagio, etc.)
Action taken:
• Mass action (annual event takes place in
November). Anti-mining campaign in Northern
Luzon, Mass action against MGB: petitions
containing commands of the community,
followed by a march-rally (protesters carry
placards). More than 1,000 participated in the
reaction against MGB’s “Mines & Safety Week”
(celebration of “[un]safe” mining practices)
• Rice crisis; KGNP Interaction-meeting of
different mining communities for sharing
experiences (face-to-face interaction with
other groups against mining activities). Levels:
Community, LGUs, etc.
Effectiveness?
• Event covered by local media. i.e. newspaper front
page presents event side-by-side (comparison)
with the (local) government’s MGB “Mines &
Safety Week.”
• Giving awards to MGB and DENR: “Most
irresponsible mining company!” “Best Human
Rights Violator!”
• Social action to gather media
• Create a “Hall of Fame”
• Symbols used: “Poison” (Skull with an “X”)
• Need effective symbols to communicate message
 CASE STUDY #2: Land Use
Problems encountered: Weather
Effectiveness?
• Target = consolidate forces that are pro-extension
of the CARPER Law (Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program Extension)
Response:
• Office of the President extends CARPER
 CASE STUDY #3: Peace Covenant Ceremony
Regions covered: Misamis Oriental
Addressing: Muslims (Moro) and Christians
Peace covenant enables tribes to be more productive
(no more fear of conflicts between warring tribes;
result: farm animals are no longer kidnapped for use
by warring tribes; peaceful and productive.)
 CASE STUDY #4: “Right to Food”
• Rice crisis; KGNP (Filipinos against the GNP)
• Involves large mobilizations and good media
coverage. Protest in Ayala area ends in office
workers throwing confetti on protesters.
• In Ayala, there was a demand to lower the price
of rice. Employees in Ayala provided support to
the protesters by giving them rice.
• They were able to get fax numbers and contact
info (communication!) so that you have
community support from the workers when you
go through the area.
• Government reacted by ordering a price control

on rice. Didn’t really assess the reaction to this
situation; rice importation was massive under
Ramos (in 1996-97 or between 1994-1996)
• Contrast government claim and action on the
ground.
• It took a one-month campaign to prepare for
this. Relied on one council member in Makati to
provide numbers for campaign.
• Risks: Dispersals (won’t be allowed to group or
regroup). Somehow, no threat of jail.
 CASE STUDY #5: 2008 Rice raid on NFA
warehouse in Cavite.
• Forced the town mayor to negotiate;
distribution of NFA rice was being done by
NFA organization and national government,
bypassing the people (rice was being used for
political patronage in the distribution system).
• Initial plan was a mobilization; there was no
plan to ransack and raid the warehouse. The
objection was made; the local government
created a mechanism to involve local people in
the distribution of NFA rice.
2. What are the risks and how can we minimize them?
 CASE STUDY #1:
• For the standoff, some community leaders
didn’t want to end the standoff and were wary
of a Peace Covenant. They drew their guns
and were threatening to attack with arrows
and swords. No one was hurt, but there was a
3-hour standoff.
 CASE STUDY #2 (Northern Luzon, Baguio
mines)
• There was the risk of cases filed vs. PO leaders
which created a counter-group of anti-miners
(a “Divide and conquer” tactic). To counter this,
ensure network of lawyers or volunteer lawyers.
• Advice: First get a permit, if not, get a very
good negotiator. Inform protestors and confirm
commitment.
 TAMPAKAN CASE: Risks – Extrajudicial killings
(EJKs). The military should not be deputized
to provide protection for mining companies.
The armed forces function is to defend national
sovereignty. To counter this, directly take the AFP
responsible for violations and for taking the side of
mining companies. Additional investigations from
other committees: Council of Human Rights, the
(international) UN, etc.
• Military guards and protest: How could they say
they’re protecting the people when they’re the
ones dispersing the people?
• Advice: During the time of Gloria, there was
no negotiation. There was only calibrated, pre-
emptive response.
3. What are the gaps/ problems encountered?
 Finance logistics
• Solutions:
 Networking
 Community
 Logistics – for example, transport (i.e. four-wheel
drive, habal-habal, motorbike, etc.), distance, etc.
 (Cultural) Sensitivity (Interpretations vs.

miscommunication)
• For instance: extending courtesies to only
a few community leaders so that when the
acknowledgements come around, several
community leaders feel left out.
 Readiness of Community
• Keep in mind that NGOs can campaign for
communities in need, but they cannot cover
everything! They must be willing to do the work
(logistics, infrastructure, etc.)
 Schedule of press to converge
• What the media projects sometimes does not
capture what the group wants to project or
may be a different interpretation of events (i.e.
selective interpretation)
 Press release/ statement:
• When you are misquoted, you immediately
respond, asking for clarification, a rapporteur, etc.
 Problems of advocacy:
• Mining companies have stakes in mass media
• PDI
• Adverts for TE
• Fully-independent editorial: ABS-AB5
• “They protect their own” (“There’s no such
thing as ’free media‘ in the Philippines – or, for
that matter, in the world.”)
• Advocacy will always be affected by what
causes you represent and what you hope to
achieve
• Advert is a psychological approach
• Hard to “Name ‘n Shame” companies that feed
the media (Ayala, the Lopezes, etc.) because they
own the media!
• Involves media relations, etc.
4. Future planning?
 Method(s): Social actions & Media
• Framework bill: To sustain a campaign on
Right to Adequate Food, a very concrete step
must be taken for filing a legislative proposal
or decision.The legislative process creates
its own life as it involves a Public Hearing, a
debate, etc.
• Needs a solid framework – i.e. right to food
and right to adequate food – so the bill is a
campaign itself.
• Create a scenario or a venue that, by itself,
creates the life of your campaign. Break a large
piece into its key components.
• Communication on media, mass-media, social
media, etc. campaigning
• Capacity-building via lobbying, networking, etc.
• Identify early-adopters
• “Champion”-building (Legislative branch,
Senate, and Congress)
The Next Step Process:
1. Results of the workshop sessions of the
conference will serve as framework and basis
for the concrete steps to be taken that will
give the direction and specify the concept note
incorporating the General Comments 12 of
UNESCR.
2. The Concept Note is meant to help consolidate

the existing NFC and reach broader constituents
(Specifically the vulnerable sectors) and serve as
basis for the consolidation of the coalition.
3. Translate the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to
Adequate Food into Filipino and other major dialects.
4. Alongside this effort will be the implementation of
capacity-building measures to strengthen the basis
of unity and deepen understanding of RTAF.
5. Local consultations all over the country (L/V/M)
will be conducted to organize and unify all efforts
to facilitate progressive realization of RTAF.
6. IEC- Information Education materials will be
developed on RTAF and published in major dialects.
Addendum: (Martin Remppis) – “To formulate the Right

To Adequate Food legal framework details
with the broadest participation possible.”
Closing Activity, Call to Action and Approval of the
Conference Manifesto
(Facilitated by Mr. Ricardo Reyes)

٠183
٠185
Summary Review: An Assessment

of the Philippine Legal Framework
Governing the Right to Adequate
Food
by
Maria Socorro Diokno

Summary Review ٠187
Summary Review,
An Assessment of the Philippine Legal Framework
Governing the Right to Adequate Food
T his summary review is based on An Assessment

of the Philippine Legal Framework Governing
the Right to Food, co-authored by Virgilio R. de los Reyes
and Maria Socorro I. Diokno (October 2008). The authors
were contracted by the Asia-Pacific Policy Center for the
Food and Agriculture Organization’s project “Developing
methods and instruments to implement the right to food.”
Words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs in quotation
marks are direct quotes from the original work.
In assessing the country’s legal framework, De los Reyes
and Diokno (2008) were guided by the definition and
normative elements of the right to adequate food, as well as
obligations arising from it, articulated by the United Nations
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in
General Comment 12, The right to adequate food (Art.11).2
The Committee defines the right to adequate food
as the right of “every man, woman and child, alone
or in community with others, [to have] physical and
economic access at all times to adequate food or means
for its procurement.” The right to adequate food is both
freedom from hunger and entitlement to food that meets
dietary needs, is free from adverse substances, is culturally
acceptable, is in large enough quantities, is physically and
economically accessible, and constitutes a sustainable
supply for present and future generations.
_______________
2
05 December 1999, UN Doc. E/C.12/1999/5.
The Committee also described the obligations arising

from the right to adequate food, including:
(a) the obligation of progressive realization, which
requires states to take steps, through all appropriate
means, with maximum use of available resources, to
progressively achieve the right to adequate food;
(b) core obligations, which require states to ensure
the satisfaction of the minimum essential level
required to be free from hunger;
(c) obligations of equality and nondiscrimination,
which require states to ensure both de jure3 and
de facto4 equality, without distinction of any
kind, exclusion, restriction or preference based
on race, color, gender, language, disability, age,
religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth and other status;
(d) obligations of international cooperation and
assistance, which require states to conduct their
trade, lending, technical and financial assistance
and related activities with due regard for the right
to food of the people of other states and require
states that are unable to guarantee the right to food
of their people to seek assistance from other states;
(e) the obligation to respect the right to food, which
forbids states from acting in any way that directly
encroaches upon it;
_______________
3
Equality achieved when laws or policies treat women and men in
a neutral manner.
4
Equality achieved when the effects of laws, policies and practices do
not maintain but alleviate the inherent disadvantages that women
experience.
(f) the obligation to protect the right to food, which
compels states to take steps to prohibit others
from violating it;
(g) the obligation to fulfill (facilitate or promote) the
right to food, which requires states to actively create
conditions aimed at the right’s full realization; and
(h) the obligation to fulfill (provide) the right to
food, which requires states to actually provide
food whenever, for reasons beyond their control,
individuals or groups are unable to realize the
right by the means at their disposal.
Philippine Legal Framework
De los Reyes and Diokno (2008) define the Philippine

legal framework as “the set of applicable domestic and
international laws, jurisprudence and processes” related
to the right to adequate food. These include legally and
customarily binding international instruments, the 1987
Philippine Constitution, food availability laws, food
accessibility laws, and food safety laws.
Legally binding international instruments are those ratified
by the Philippines and include the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,5 the Convention on
the Rights of the Child,6 the Convention on the Elimination
_______________
5
Adopted on 16 December 1966; the Covenant was ratified by the
Philippines on 19 December 1966 and entered into force on 3
January 1976.
6
Adopted on 20 November 1989; the Convention was ratified by
the Philippines on 26 January 1990 and entered into force on 2
September 1990.
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,7 and the

Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions and Relating
to the Protection of Victims of International and Non-
International Armed Conflicts8. Because of a constitutional
process called transformation, which “may also entail the
passage of domestic legislation,” the International Code of
Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes9 is now part of Philippine
law by virtue of Executive Order 51.10
Customarily binding international instruments are general
norms of international law principles and practice and include
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,11 the Declaration
on the Rights of the Child, the Universal Declaration on the
Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition,12 the Declaration on
Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed
Conflicts,13 the Code of Ethics for International Trade,14
the Declaration on the Right to Development,15 the Rome
_______________
7
Adopted in 1979; the Convention was ratified by the Philippines
on 5 August 1981 and entered into force on 3 September 1981.
8
Adopted on 8 June 1977; Protocol II was ratified by the
Philippines on 11 December 1986.
9
Adopted by the Member States of the World Health Organization
on 21 May 1981.
10
Adopting a National Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes,
Breastmilk Supplements and Related Products, Penalizing Violations
thereof and for Other Purposes, 28 October 1986.
11
Adopted on 10 December 1948.
12
Adopted on 16 November 1974 by the World Food Conference,
convened under United Nations General Assembly Resolution
3180 (XXVIII) dated 17 December 1973 and endorsed by United
Nations General Assembly Resolution 3348 (XXIX) dated 17 De-
cember 1974.
13
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly through
Resolution 3318(XXIX) on 14 December 1974; see Paragraph 6.
14
Adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission through CAC/
RCP 20-1979 (Rev. I-1985) in December 1979.
15
Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly through
Resolution 41/128 on 4 December 1986; see Article 8.
Declaration on World Food Security,16 the Voluntary

Guidelines to Support the Progressive Realization of
the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National
Food Security (hereafter referred to as the Right to Food
Guidelines)17, and the High-Level Conference on World
Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and
Bioenergy..18
Food availability laws are laws governing agrarian
reform, agricultural policy and trade measures, as these
relate to access to land, agricultural productivity, and
food supply (see Table 1).
Behind the agrarian reform law is the dual spirit of “re-
distribution of wealth and providing access to land for food
production,” which are reflected in the leasehold program,
acquisition of land, profit sharing19 and stock distribution.
The law also includes provisions on support services such
as training, credit support, infrastructure and organization.
The law is accompanied by other laws that provide credit
support for agrarian reform beneficiaries and agriculture
in general,20 support services for irrigation,21 creation of
sources of revenue for support services to agriculture,22
_______________
16
Adopted by the Heads of State and Government or their representatives
during the World Food Summit on 13 November 1996. The Declara-
tion is accompanied by a Plan of Action, which provides specific
details on the commitments adopted by the Declaration.
17
Adopted at the 127th session of the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) Council in November 2004.
18
Paragraph 1, Declaration of the High-Level Conference on World
Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy.
19
Profit sharing was a temporary measure prior to distribution of
commercial farms under the deferment program.
20
PD 717.
21
RA 6978.
22
RA 8178 (Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund)
Table 1. Food Availability Laws

On Agriculture, Agrarian Reform and Fisheries
• RA 3844, October 1963
• PD 27, Rice and Corn Land Reform, 21 October 1972
• PD 717, Providing an Agrarian Reform Credit and
Financing System for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries
through Banking Institutions, also known as the
Agri-Agra Law, 29 May 1975; amended by EO 83,
Strengthening the Enforcement of the Agri-Agra
Law and Launching the NDC Agri-Agra Erap
Bonds for Rural Development, 25 December 1998;
Monetary Board Resolution No. 442, 7 April 1999
and Monetary Board Circular No. 196, Series of 1999
• RA 6657, Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law, 10
June 1998
• RA 8435, Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization
Act of 1997, 22 December 1997
• RA 7607, Magna Carta of Small Farmers, 4 June
1992
• RA 7900, High Value Crops Development Act of
1995, 23 February 1995
• RA 9168, Plant Variety Protection Act, 7 June 2002
• RA 7308, Seed Industry Development Act of 1992,
27 March 1992
• RA 7884, National Dairy Development Act of 1995,
20 February 1995
• RA 8550, Philippine Fisheries Code, 25 February
1998
On Irrigation
• RA 6978, An Act to Promote Rural Development by
Providing for an Accelerated Program within a 10-Year
Period for the Construction of Irrigation Projects, 24
January 1991
On Trade
• RA 8178, Agricultural Tariffication Act, 28 March
1996
• RA 8752, Anti Dumping Act of 1999, 12 August
1999
• RA 8800, Safeguard Measures Act, 19 July 2000
• RA 8751, Countervailing Duty Act of 1999, 7
August 1999
On Bio-Fuels
• RA 9367, Biofuels Law, 12 January 2007
and automatic appropriation of the ill-gotten wealth from

President Ferdinand Marcos23 and his family.
Philippine agricultural policy is enunciated in RA 8435
(Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act or AFMA),
which aims to promote “industrialization and full employment
based on agricultural development and agrarian reform.
The AFMA also clearly and unequivocally provided for
self-sufficiency in food staples of rice and white corn” and
“committed state support for these objectives. This law, similar
to RA 6657 (CARL), built on the twin goals of achieving
equity and agricultural productivity. These objectives were
to be achieved taking into account market approaches to the
development of the agriculture and fisheries sectors. The law
also indicated a clear bias towards ensuring the welfare of food
consumers particularly those in lower income groups.” AFMA
is “supplemented by RA 8550 (Philippine Fisheries Code), RA
7607 (Magna Carta for Small Farmers), RA 7884 (National
_______________
23
RA 6657, Section 65.
Dairy Act), and RA 7900 (High Value Crops Act). All of these
laws provide for state support to agriculture both as a means to
ensure availability of food and as a means to increase incomes.
Similarly, all these laws subscribe to the use of market forces
with state support as the primary levers of development.
These laws also provide for mechanisms for the involvement
of stakeholders in the policy-development process.”
Trade measures arose as a result of accession to the

GATT 1994 package and the inclusion of agricultural
products to the commitments under the GATT. “The
Philippines passed several laws that provide for trade
remedies that can mitigate unfair trade practices of
trading partners or react to sudden surges in imports due
to the opening of the Philippines to imports. These laws24
_______________
24
RA 8751 (Subsidies), RA 8752 (Anti-Dumping) and RA 8800
(Safeguard Measures)
came even later than RA 8435 (AFMA). The tariffication

of quantitative restrictions in agricultural products
similarly gave way to the passage of RA 8178 (Agricultural
Tariffication Act). These laws were meant to protect
local producers from the vagaries of liberalized trading
in agricultural products. However, the Agricultural
Tariffication Act had the effect of repealing laws that
provided for prohibitions and quantitative restrictions on
the importation of agricultural products 25 such as onions,
potatoes, garlic, coffee, livestock, seeds, and tobacco. In
general, the Agricultural Tariffication Act removed the
protection granted to small farmers from importation
of agricultural products that are produced in sufficient
quantity.”26 The Philippines also “passed laws that sought
to address the issue of development and intellectual
property in seeds and planting materials. RA 7308 (Seed
Industry Development Act) and RA 9168 (Plant Variety
Protection Act) provided for means to develop the seed
industry by providing incentives as well as protection to
creators of new strains of plants.”
Food accessibility laws are laws that incorporate
physical and economic access to food (see Table 2). Two
Philippine laws27 recognize food physical accessibility but
access is “limited to enhancing the mobility of persons
with disabilities—and not to enhancing physical access to
food, especially by those most vulnerable to hunger.”
_______________
25
See Section 4 of RA 8178.
26
See Section 4 of RA 8178 in relation to Section 23(10) of RA 7607
27
BP 344 (Accessibility Law) and RA 7277 (Magna Carta for
Disabled Persons).
Table 2. Food Accessibility Laws

On Physical Accessibility
• Batas Pambansa 344, An Act to Enhance the Mobility
of Disabled Persons by Requiring Certain Buildings,
Institutions, Establishments and Public Utilities to
Install Facilities and Other Devices, also known as
the Accessibility Law, 25 February 1983
On Prices
• RA 7581, An Act Providing Protection to Consumers
by Stabilizing Prices of Basic Necessities and Prime
Commodities and by Prescribing Measures against
Undue Price Increases during Emergency Situations
and Like Occasions, 27 May 1992
• RA 71, An Act Requiring Price Tags to be Affixed on
all Articles of Commerce Offered for Sale at Retail
and Penalizing Violations of Such Requirement, 21
October 1946
• RA 7394, Consumer Act of the Philippines
(particularly Articles 81-84), 13 April 1992
On Wages and Employment
• PD 442 as amended, The Labor Code of the
Philippines, 16 February 1976; amended by series
of PDs, Batas Pambansa laws, EOs and RAs; see
provisions in Title II, Book III on wages and Chapter
3, Title III, Book III on employment of house-helpers
• RA 6727, Wage Rationalization Act, 9 June 1989;
Department of Labor and Employment Rules
Implementing RA 6727, 7 July 1989, revised by
National Wages and Productivity Commission of
Department of Labor and Employment NWPC
Guidelines No. 001-95, Revised Rules of Procedure
on Minimum Wage Fixing, 29 November 1995
• RA 6971, Productivity Incentives Act of 1990,
22 November 1990; Department of Labor and
Employment Implementing Rules
• RA 1161 as amended by RA 8282, Social Security
Law of 1997, May 1, 1997
• RA 8291, Revised Government Service Insurance
System Act of 1977, 30 May 1997
• RA 7658, An Act Prohibiting the Employment of
Children Below 15 Years of Age in Public and Private
Undertakings, Amending for this Purpose Section 12,
Article VIII of RA 7610, 9 November 1993
• RA 8042, Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act
of 1995, 7 June 1995; Secretary of Foreign Affairs and
Secretary of Labor and Employment Omnibus Rules and
Regulations Implementing RA 8042, 29 February1996
On Income Generating Opportunities
• RA 7900, High Value Crops Development Act of
1995, 23 February 1995
• RA 8289, Magna Carta for Small Enterprises,
amending RA 6977, 30 September 1997
• RA 8550, Philippine Fisheries Code, 25 February 1998.
• RA 7277, Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, 24
March 1992
• RA 8371, the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997,
29 October 1997
• RA 8972, Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000, 7
November 2000
On Access to Credit
• RA 7394, Consumer Act of the Philippines, 13 April 1992
• RA 7192, Women in Development and Nation
Building Act, 12 February 1992
• RA 8425, Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act,
11 December 1997
Special Laws and Regulations for Those Most

Vulnerable or in Special Situations
• RA 6972, Barangay-Level Total Development and
Protection of Children Act, 23 November 1990
• RA 7610, An Act Providing for Stronger Deterrence and
Special Protection against Child Abuse, Exploitation and
Discrimination Providing Penalties for its Violation and
for Other Purposes, 17 June 1998
• Rules and Regulations on Children in Situations of Armed
Conflict, Secretary of Justice with conformity of Secretary of
Social Welfare and Development, 21 January 1994.
• RA 9257, Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003, 26
February 2004; Department of Social Welfare and
Development Rules and Regulations Implementing
RA 9257, 25 May 2004
• RA 8504, the Philippine AIDS Prevention and
Control Act of 1998, 13 February 1998
Food economic accessibility is recognized in various laws

on prices, income, access to credit, and special laws for
those most vulnerable to hunger or in special situations
Laws governing food prices “do not significantly
contribute to hunger mitigation.” RA 7581 (Price Act) is
a temporary special measure designed to keep food prices
stable only during emergency situations.28 While the law
allows the imposition of price ceilings on food staples under
certain circumstances, the law is so vaguely written29 that
_______________
28
Those brought about by natural disasters or calamities, or during
the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, or dur-
ing martial law, a state or emergency, or state of rebellion, or acts
of war.
29
For example, price ceilings may be imposed whenever there are
“widespread acts of illegal price manipulation” but when exactly
does this condition exist?
Department of Trade and Industry monitoring prices of commodities
it becomes virtually impossible to determine exactly when

price ceilings should be imposed. RA 71 (Price Tag Law)
merely requires that price tags be affixed to all articles of
commerce offered for sale at retail outlets. In like manner,
Articles 81 through 84 of RA 7394 (Consumer Act of the
Philippines) mandate that no products may be sold at
a price higher than what is stated in its price tag,which
must be written clearly, without erasures or alterations.
RA 7394 also stipulates additional label requirements for
food products, such as its expiry date, processing status
(i.e., semi-processed, fully processed, ready to cook, ready
to eat, prepared food or plain mixture), nutritive value,
and natural or synthetic ingredients used.”
Laws on wages and employment “are generally
unfavorable to workers.” “PD 442 as amended (Labor
Code of the Philippines) statutorily sets minimum wage
rates while RA 6727 (Wage Rationalization Law) sets the
A mass action for a minimum wage increase.
standards for increasing minimum wages. While statutorily

setting minimum wages may contribute to easing hunger,
this contribution is compromised when wage levels do not
allow minimum wage earners the opportunity to access
food.” In addition, “RA 6727 (Wage Rationalization
Law) requires that wages be set ‘as nearly adequate as is
economically feasible to maintain minimum standards of
living necessary for health, efficiency and general well
being of employees within the framework of the national
economic and social development program.’ Considering
that information on food expenditures and family living
wages are available to NWPC, it appears that when it
comes to wage increases, other standards (i.e., fair return
of capital invested, productivity and inducing industries to
invest) weigh more heavily than the needs of workers and
their families.” More importantly, “while minimum wage
rates may be increased ‘whenever conditions warrant,’
no additional wage increases are allowed for a period of
one year from the date of increase; however, if prices rise
faster than wages, as they most commonly do, the one
year delay in setting wage increases could exacerbate the
hunger situation among workers.”
Other laws generally unfavorable to workers include:
RA 6971 (Productivity Incentives Act), which “provides
incentives to capital and ties productivity bonuses—which
are not salary increases-to increases in the company’s
productivity, resulting in limited contributions to hunger
alleviation among wage earners;” and RA 7658 (An Act
Prohibiting the Employment of Children Below 15
Years of Age in Public and Private Undertakings), which
“allows the employment of children below the age of 15
only under two circumstances;30 because the law does not
include provisions on who manages the child’s income and
how such income should be managed, it is not possible to
determine the nature or extent of its influence over the
hunger situation of working children.”
The authors also looked into three laws, which, while
not directly related to the right to adequate food, impact
nonetheless on it; these include RA 1161 as amended
by RA 8282 (Social Security Law of 1997) and RA 8291
(Revised Government Service Insurance System Act of
1977), which “deal more with the right to social security
than with right to food; however, benefits under both
_______________
30
When under sole responsibility of parents/legal guardian and only
members of employer’s family are employed or where the child’s
employment or participation in public entertainment or informa-
tion through cinema, theater, radio or television is essential.
programs may conceivably be used to address hunger;”

and RA 8042 (Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos
Act), which “contains contradictory state policies; while
on the one hand it claims not to promote overseas
employment, on the other hand, it encourages the
deployment of Filipinos overseas. Such contradictory
policy could indicate a bias towards promoting overseas
employment opportunities rather than building domestic
employment opportunities.”
The authors also reviewed laws that potentially
provide income-generating opportunities, noting “while
these laws could contribute to easing the hunger situation,
some contain inherent defects, while others require strict
and effective implementation.” The authors note, for
example, that “RA 7900 (High Value Crops Development
Act of 1995) promotes agricultural productivity of high
value crops for export to increase foreign exchange
earnings of the country; while income generated from the
cultivation of high value crops could conceivably ease the
hunger situation among farmers, diverting agricultural
lands from the production of food staples like rice and
corn into high value crop production may compromise
the availability of food.”
Among the income-generating opportunity laws
requiring strict implementation are RA 8550 (Philippine
Fisheries Code), which “reserves fishery and aquatic
resources for exclusive use of Filipinos and gives preference
to municipal fisher folk in the grant of Fishpond Lease

Agreements and access to municipal waters, fishery and
aquatic resources, requires at least 10 percent of all credit
and guarantee funds of government financing institutions
to be made available for post harvest and marketing
projects, mandates support for municipal fisher folk
through various mechanisms and requires the formulation
of a comprehensive post harvest and ancillary industries
plan;” RA 8289 (Magna Carta for Small Enterprises),
which “simplifies rules of procedure and requirements for
the registration of small and medium scale enterprises and
coordinates all efforts and services of government that focus
on small enterprises,” including development initiatives in
terms of finance, technology, production, management and
business linkages for globally competitive small and medium
scale enterprises, direct and indirect project lending,

venture capital, financial leasing, secondary mortgage and/
or rediscounting of loan papers to small businesses; RA
7277 (Magna Carta for Disabled Persons), which “reserves,
for persons with disabilities, 5% of casual, emergency and
contractual positions—not regular or permanent positions—
in the Departments of Social Welfare and Development,
Health, Education and other government agencies, offices
or corporations engaged in social development;” RA 8371
(Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997), which “recognizes
the rights of indigenous peoples to water, basic services,
health and infrastructure, and their rights to full ownership
and control over indigenous seeds and other indigenous
plant genetic resources;” and RA 8972 (Solo Parents’
Welfare Act of 2000), which “provides a comprehensive
package of support facilities for disadvantaged solo parents,
including livelihood development services for solo parents
living below the poverty threshold.”
Laws governing access to credit “influence the hunger

situation in limited ways since they do not actually enlarge
access to credit.” The authors considered RA 7394
(Consumer Act of the Philippines), which “protects food
consumers by mandating stricter standards governing
credit transactions and practices, requiring full disclosure
of all information required to allow consumers to make
informed credit decisions, and providing avenues for
consumer complaints related to credit transactions and
practices;” RA 7192 (Women in Development and Nation
Building Act), which “grants women the capacity (not the
right) to borrow and obtain loans and execute security and
credit arrangements under the same conditions as men,
equal access to all government and private sector programs
granting agricultural credit, loans and nonmaterial
resources, and equal treatment in agrarian reform and
land resettlement programs. This law does not include
special credit quotas and other similar temporary special
measures that will enhance women’s access to credit;”
and RA 8425 (Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation

Act), which emphasizes the extension of credit facilities
and microfinance to the poor, establishes a microfinance
program, and requires existing government financing
institutions to extend savings and credit services to the
poor through special credit windows. “Interestingly, this
law, which creates the National Anti-Poverty Commission
and serves as the country’s centerpiece law for poverty
alleviation, does not include targeted temporary special
measures to mitigate hunger among the poor such as
feeding programs, food aid, food subsidies etc.”
An urban poor community in Metro Manila, a clear manifestation of

poverty in the country.
Special laws that help improve the hunger situation
among those most vulnerable include: RA 6972 (Barangay-
Level Total Development and Protection of Children Act),
which requires the establishment of day care centers in every
barangay for children up to 6 years old with feeding programs
within the center and at home, the conduct of growth and
nutritional monitoring with supplementary nutrition feeding

and supervision of nutritional intake at home, and the creation
of a prenatal and neonatal care referral and support system
for pregnant mothers; RA 7610 (Special Protection against
Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act), which
explicitly declares deprivation of food a form of child abuse
that carries criminal liability; and RA 9257 (Expanded Senior
Citizens Act of 2003), which grants older persons discounts
for basic commodities, including food.
Special laws and regulations that could exacerbate the

hunger situation of those most vulnerable include: the
Rules and Regulations on Children in Situations of Armed
Conflict, which “allow government to prevent or limit the
delivery of goods (including food items) into areas of armed
conflict if the delivery will directly interfere with ongoing
combat operations or will endanger the lives or safety of
those delivering goods for no longer than three days, so long
as the restriction will not lead to starvation of those inside
combat areas; once combat operations cease, the Peace and
Order Council is required to expedite the release of the
goods. This may compromise the right to food of children
in situations of armed conflict; and RA 8504 (Philippine
AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998) and BP 344
(Accessibility Law), since neither law recognizes the right to
food of persons living with HIV and persons with disabilities,
nor contain provisions that could significantly influence the
hunger situation of these vulnerable groups.
Food safety laws are laws on the nutritive quality of

food, safety standards and regulation, and sanitation and
“ensure that food available for consumption contains
enough nutritive values and is free from contaminants
and other microorganisms” (see Table 3).
Two laws that deal with the nutritive quality of food
“have the potential to enhance food safety, if these are
properly implemented. RA 7600 (Rooming-In and
Breastfeeding Act) recognizes the right of the mother
to breastfeed and the right of the child to mother’s
breast milk and requires all private and government
health institutions that have adopted rooming in and
breastfeeding practices to provide equipment, facilities
and supplies for breast milk collection, storage and
Table 3. Food Safety Laws
On Nutritive Quality of Food
• EO 51, Adopting a National Code of Marketing of
Breastmilk Substitutes, Breastmilk Supplements and
Related Products, Penalizing Violations thereof and
for Other Purposes, 20 October 1986
• RA 7600, Rooming-In and Breastfeeding Act of 1992,
2 June 1992
• RA 8172, An Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide, 29
December 1995; Implementing Rules and Regulations
• RA 8976, Philippine Food Fortification Act of 2000,
7 November 2000
On Safety Standards and Regulation
• RA 3720, An Act to Ensure the Safety and Purity of Goods,
Drugs and Cosmetics being made available to the Public by
Creating the Food and Drug Administration which shall
Administer and Enforce the Laws Pertaining Thereto, 22
June 1963; amended by EO 175, 22 May 1987
• RA 7394, Consumer Act of the Philippines, 13 April 1992
• RA 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, 10
October 1991; see Article 8, Title 5, Book III on
powers and duties of Health Officer, including those
related to sanitation
• EO 292, Revised Administrative Code of 1987, 25
July 1987; see Section 48 (4), Chapter 6, Title IV on
specific functions of the National Meat Inspection
Service (formerly Commission)
• EO 137, Providing for the Implementing Rules and
Regulations Governing the Devolution of Certain
Powers and Functions of the National Meat Inspection
Commission to the Local Government Unit pursuant to
RA No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government
Code of 1991, 28 November 1993
On Sanitation
• RA 7160, Local Government Code of 1991, 10
October 1991; see Article 8, Title 5, Book III on
powers and duties of Health Officer, including those
related to sanitation.
utilization. RA 8172 (Act for Salt Iodization

Nationwide) requires all food grade salt producers
and manufacturers to iodize the salt produced,
manufactured, imported, traded or distributed in the
country, to use iodized salt in the processing of food
products, and to make iodized salt available in areas
endemic to iodine deficiency disease.”
Two other laws, however, may need to be enhanced:
EO 51 (Milk Code) has the potential to promote food
safety, but a Supreme Court case, which allows the
advertising, promotions and sponsorships of infant
formula, breast milk substitutes and other related
products,31 may compromise that potential. “RA 8976
(Philippine Food Fortification Act of 2000) requires
the fortification of food to compensate for inadequacies
in the Filipino diet.” “Unfortunately, the law does not
contain clear standards or criteria governing the selection
of vehicles for voluntary food fortification, such as, for
instance, requiring fortification only for food that already
has some nutritional value or clearly identifying specific
food that should not be eligible for fortification (for
example, food containing high levels of fat, salt or sugar).
Such standards would prevent indiscriminate marketing
and promotion of fortified food products of questionable
nutritional quality.”
Laws setting food safety standards include: RA
3720 (An Act to Ensure the Safety and Purity of Foods,
_______________
31
Pharmaceutical and Health Care Association of the Philippines v.
Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III, et. al. G.R. No. 173074,
October 9, 2007.
Drugs and Cosmetics being made available to the
Public by Creating the Food and Drug Administration
which shall Administer and Enforce the Laws
Pertaining Thereto), which “requires the Bureau of
Food and Drugs to collect, analyze, test and inspect
food products and materials, establish analytical data,
recommend standards of identity, purity, quality
and fill of container, issue certificates of compliance
with technical requirements, conduct spot checks
for compliance, and regulate shipments of incoming
food;” RA 7394 (Consumer Act of the Philippines),
which “requires local government units to regulate
the preparation and sale of meat, fresh fruits, poultry,
milk, fish, vegetables and other foodstuff for public
consumption,” and various government agencies to
inspect and analyze consumer products related to
agriculture, establish standards and quality measures
for food, and develop and adopt a consumer education
program; RA 7160 (Local Government Code, Title
5, Article 8), which “requires the Sangguniang Bayan
and the Sangguniang Panlungsod to enact ordinances
to regulate the construction and operation of public
markets, slaughterhouses, and animal corrals and
creates the position of veterinarian at the provincial,

city and, if necessary, municipal levels;” EO 292
(Revised Administrative Code of 1987, particularly
Section 48 (4), Chapter 6, Title IV), which “designates
the National Meat Inspection Service to conduct actual
ante mortem inspection of all animals presented for
slaughter and post mortem inspection of all carcasses
intended for human consumption in all abattoirs,”
and “exercise overall supervision and control over the
management and operations of all abattoirs, dressing
plants, meat processing plants and meat markets;” and
EO 137 (Providing for the Implementing Rules and
Regulations Governing the Devolution of Certain
Powers and Functions of the National Meat Inspection
Commission to the Local Government Unit pursuant
to Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the
Local Government Code of 1991), which “further
clarifies the powers and functions of the National
Meat Inspection Service by requiring it to exercise
technical supervision over the establishment and
operations of slaughterhouses and formulate policies,
guidelines, rules and regulations setting quality and
safety standards over the establishment and operations
of slaughterhouses, the marketing, preservation, and
inspection of meat and meat products, and the import
and export of meat and meat products.”
The law on sanitation, “RA 7160 (Local Government
Code, Title 5, Article 8) directs local health officers to
conduct sanitary inspections of all business establishments
selling food and recommend the prosecution of any
violation of sanitary laws, ordinances or regulations.”
Legal Framework Analysis: Findings
De los Reyes and Diokno (2008) assessed the

Philippine legal framework, and looked into available
recourse mechanisms, national human rights institutions,
law-making process, and awareness of the right to
adequate food. The authors found the “Philippine legal
framework governing the right to food falls short of the
imperatives for realizing the right to food. The Philippine
legal framework does not sufficiently incorporate human
rights obligations arising from the right to food; neither
does it heed the Right to Food Guidelines.” The authors’
specifically found:
1. Lack of explicit recognition of the right to adequate

food in the Philippine Constitution, thus resulting in
weak Philippine legal framework.
De los Reyes and

Diokno (2008) found
that the 1987 Philippine
Constitution “does not
explicitly recognize the
right to food” but the
right “may be inferred
from various human
rights provisions and
from the constitutional
intent to address
mass poverty,” such as
provisions mandating
policies to improve the quality of life for all,32 foster

social justice,33 promote agrarian reform,34 and recognize
the rights of subsistence fishermen to the preferential
use of communal inland and offshore marine and fishing
resources.35
The authors point out: “If the right to food is inferred
from various constitutional provisions, a Supreme Court
decision weakens the right by ruling that some human
rights are ‘not judicially enforceable rights.’ In Tondo
Medical Center Employees Association, et. al. v. The
Court of Appeals, et. al.,36 the Supreme Court ruled that
several provisions of the 1987 Constitution37 are ‘not
judicially enforceable rights. These provisions, which
merely lay down a general principle, are distinguished
from other constitutional provisions as non-self-executing
and, therefore, cannot give rise to a cause of action in
the courts; they do not embody judicially enforceable
constitutional rights.’”
Thus, the authors conclude: the “Constitution’s failure
to explicitly recognize the right to food and the suggested
‘Guidelines for legislation,’ weaken the legal framework
governing the right to food.”
_______________
32
Section 9, Article II in relation to Section 1, Article XII, 1987 Phil-
ippine Constitution.
33
Section 10, Article II in relation to Sections 1 and 3, Article XII,
1987 Philippine Constitution.
34
Section 21, Article II in relation to Sections 4, 5 and 6, Article XIII,
1987 Philippine Constitution,
35
Section 7, Article XIII, 1987 Philippine Constitution.
36
G.R. Number 167324, 17 July 2007.
37
Rights to health, education, work, and rights of the family, youth,
workers, and persons with disabilities.
2. Lack of national food policy to serve as overarching

framework to address hunger, thus resulting in
incoherent, non-complementary and even conflicting
Philippine legal framework.
De los Reyes and Diokno (2008) evaluated 47

Philippine laws affecting food availability, food
accessibility, and food safety. The authors assessed
the compatibility of these laws with international
human rights obligations and looked into related
implementation issues. The authors found that despite
the vast number of laws and Constitutional provisions,
the country has not adopted a national food policy that
could serve as its overarching framework to address
hunger. The lack of a national food policy explains
why the Philippine legal framework is not coherent,
not complementary, and at times, even conflicting.
The authors found
that the Philippine legal
framework is “a good base
upon which to ensure
availability of food, but it does
not increase physical access
to food, and its contributions
towards strengthening
food economic accessibility
are marginal, at best. The
most positive aspect of the
food legal framework is its
emphasis on improving food
safety.”
On the extent of compatibility with human rights

obligations, the authors found mixed results: some laws were
compatible with some obligations, while others were not.
The obligation of progressive realization38 was partially
complied with, but the steps taken “are clearly insufficient
to alleviate the hunger situation in the country. In the area
of food prices, for instance, the laws only really mandate
the use of price tags, while defects in laws relating to
income generating opportunities could nullify steps taken
to progressively realize the right to food.”
Core obligations are not adequately addressed; “While
some laws may be compliant with core obligations,39 other
laws are clearly incompatible with core obligations.40
_______________
38
Among the steps taken are: crafting a land reform law, facilitating
mobility for persons with disabilities; providing limited employment
and income opportunities for persons with disabilities; requiring
the use of price tags; stabilizing prices in emergency situations;
creating a social security regime for employees in the public and
private sectors; requiring growth and nutritional monitoring;
enhancing access to credit; supporting the development of small
and medium scale industries; guaranteeing the rights of indigenous
peoples; reserving fishery and aquatic resources for the exclusive
use of Filipinos, with priority given to municipal fisher folk;
developing a comprehensive program of services for solo parents
and their children; promoting breastfeeding, food fortification,
salt iodization, and establishing food regulatory, sanitation and
inspection systems.
39
For example, the Barangay-Level Total Development and Protection of
Children Act, which requires a feeding program at the barangay level, the
Philippine Fisheries Code, which reserves marine resources for municipal
fisher folk, the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, which grants discounts to
the elderly, including special discounts for the purchase of basic necessities,
and the Milk Code and the Rooming-In Act, which promote breastfeeding.
40
The minimum wage law does not appear to comply with core obligations
to ensure freedom from hunger for minimum wage earners and their families in
the 6th and 7th income deciles who rely solely on minimum wages for survival.
The prohibition against night work for women likewise does not appear to com-
ply with the obligation to ensure that women are free from hunger.
Compliance of other laws41 with core obligations
depends to a large degree on their interpretation and
implementation.”
There are “isolated laws42 that incorporate aspects of
obligations of equality and nondiscrimination. This is notable
in the selection of women as agrarian reform beneficiaries and
in the clear bias of the agrarian reform program to be gender
sensitive in providing for women as farmer-beneficiaries. But,
there are laws that discriminate against women and adversely
impact on their hunger situation.43 The legal framework
_______________
41
For example, the social security laws, the Labor Code’s provision requir-
ing that wage adjustments for house helpers be undertaken by agreement
of the parties, the law tying bonuses to increases in business productivity,
and the law promoting agricultural productivity of high value crops.
42
For example, the Labor Code prohibits discrimination of women in the
payment of compensation, and the grant of promotions, training oppor-
tunities, study and scholarship grants by virtue of their sex, pregnancy or
marital status. The Migrant Workers Overseas Filipinos Act affirms the
fundamental equality of women and men and requires the application of
gender sensitive criteria in formulating policies and programs and in the
composition of bodies tasked for the welfare of overseas Filipino work-
ers. The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act prohibits discrimination against
indigenous peoples and recognizes the equal rights of indigenous women.
The Women in Development and Nation Building Act recognizes the
role of women in nation building and ensures fundamental equality of
women and men. The Special Protection of Children against Child Abuse,
Exploitation and Discrimination Act pays special attention to children of
indigenous peoples and prohibits any form of discrimination against chil-
dren. The law on HIV/AIDS prohibits the denial of access to credit and
loan services to any person on the basis of actual, perceived or suspected
HIV status, provided the person with HIV/AIDS has not concealed or
misrepresented his/her status upon application. The Solo Parents Act pro-
hibits discrimination against any solo parent on account of his/her status.
43
A provision in the Labor Code prohibits women from working at
night; this is tantamount to outright discrimination against women
and a diminution of women’s access to food. Also while RA 8187
amending the Labor Code grants paternity leave, it limits paternity
leave only to married male employees, which is likewise discriminatory. In
addition, many food accessibility laws do not require women’s par-
ticipation in various boards or agencies created by law.
does not consider gender factors and issues affecting

food production, purchase, preparation, consumption
and distribution within the household. Relevant laws
do not recognize that women primarily take care of
feeding their families and so do not value women’s
productive and household work and do not recognize
the multiple burdens carried by women.” Because the
laws appear to be gender blind, implementation issues
arise, including lack of preferential treatment or quota
systems for women fishers and women farmers especially
in the grant of titles, leasehold agreements, credit,
microfinance, access to pre- and post-harvest facilities,
marketing, technology transfer, capital, fishing gear or
equipment, lack of information targeting addressed to
women, non-inclusion of women in various councils and
boards created to address hunger, and requirements such
as husband’s signature to access credit.
“The Philippine legal framework does not incorporate
obligations of international cooperation, reflecting a
lack of appreciation of the importance of these kinds
of obligations in addressing the hunger situation in the
country.”
The obligation to respect is not highlighted
in the Philippine legal framework. “Incorporating
the obligation to respect the right to food would
enhance the Philippine legal framework because it
would then stipulate prohibited actions that encroach
upon the integrity and rights of all, especially those
most vulnerable to hunger. The obligation to
respect the right to food may be seriously affected
by the implementation of the Biofuels Act if its
implementation is not integrated into an over-all

agricultural policy plan.”
The obligation to protect “is most incorporated in
the Philippine legal framework which is replete with
provisions listing offenses and corresponding penalties,
administrative sanctions, due process requirements, and
available recourse mechanisms.”44
The obligation to fulfill (facilitate) “is incorporated
in the Philippine legal framework through information
dissemination, provision of incentives, appropriate
technology and research, credit, production and
marketing assistance, discounts for senior citizens,
conduct of independent and periodic surveys and
_______________
44
For example, by punishing discrimination, imposing price ceilings
in times of emergency, prohibiting other forms of payment of wages,
prohibiting interference in the disposal of wages, prohibiting wage
deductions unless mandated by law, prohibiting retaliatory measures
against employees who file complaints against their employers, pe-
nalizing illegal acts of price manipulation, vesting the Department
of Labor and Employment with visitorial and enforcement powers,
providing indemnity for unjust termination of household services,
penalizing fraudulent claims for social security benefits, punishing
illegal recruitment, punishing child abuse, creating standards to
govern credit transactions and practices, establishing and enforcing
standards for high value crops, imposing administrative sanctions and
penalties on lending institutions for non compliance with the law, re-
quiring free and prior informed consent before access to biologi-
cal and genetic resources and to indigenous knowledge related to con-
servation, utilization and enhancement of resources, regulating access
to fishery and aquatic resources, requiring monitoring, control and
surveillance systems for fisheries and aquatic resources, limit-
ing entry into over-fished areas, banning disposition or alienation of
public lands suitable for fishery, penalizing illegal fishing acts etc.,
mandating quality assurance and safety standards (including weights,
volume, fill standards, food grade iodized salt standards, etc.), regulat-
ing the sale and distribution of food and of abattoirs, monitoring food
products, requiring the conduct of inspections and the issuance of
safety certifications, clearly defining adulterated and mislabeled food,
unsafe food additives, deceptive food advertising etc.
studies on selling prices of basic necessities and prime

commodities and their impact on family income,
requiring employers to give house helpers below 18
years of age the opportunity to finish at least elementary
education, requiring compulsory membership in social
security programs for both public and private employees,
and simplifying procedures and requirements for the
registration of small and medium scale industries. This
obligation is also highlighted in the protection against
the diversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses.
However, the agrarian reform law emphasizes zoning
over and above actual use of the land in determination
of exempted land.45 This has led to large tracts of land
devoted to agricultural use being excluded from coverage
under the law and consequently being diverted to non-
agricultural use.”
“The obligation to fulfill (provide) is also found in the
Philippine legal framework through the implementation
of feeding programs for children in barangay day care
centers and at home, and the provision of free iodized
salt to indigents in 6th class municipalities for three years
from the date the law became effective.”46
The authors also compared the Philippine legal
framework against the Right to Food Guidelines, and
found “in general, the Philippine legal framework falls
short of the Guidelines.” The authors’ assessment is
presented in Table 4.
_______________
45
See DOJ Opinion 44 Series of 1990.
46
RA 6972, Barangay Level Total Development and Protection of
Children Act and RA 8172, Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide.
De los Reyes and Diokno (2008) considered
implementation issues relating to food safety,
food availability and food accessibility laws in the
Philippines. The authors could not find any data on the
implementation of food safety laws. The authors note
that while the “regulatory framework for processed
foods is largely in place,” the “regulation of food to
ensure its safety is lodged with different agencies of
government,47”and the “regulation and monitoring of
unprocessed food sourced from local wet markets is
largely left to the local government units.” The authors
recognize current initiatives of the Department of
Health “to coordinate a food safety framework that will
allow the department to be able to track the different
initiatives.”
On food availability issues, the authors primarily looked
into the agrarian reform laws and AFMA. The authors
note: “the redistribution of land under the agrarian reform
program remains an
unfinished program
after more than
thirty-six years.48
Access to land of
farmers tilling or
working on private
agricultural land
_______________
47
See Philippine Food Safety Framework. Submitted to the ASE-
AN Food Safety Network. Accessed on August 6, 2008 at http://
aadcp.aseanfoodsafetynetwork.net/Portals/0/Documents/PHILIP-
PINE%20FOOD%20SAFETY%20FRAME WORK.pdf
48
This is reckoned from October 21, 1972 upon the passage of
Presidential Decree 27(1972).
Table 4. Legal Framework Assessment Based on Right to Food Guidelines
Voluntary Guidelines Assessment
Assessment of economic Assessment under Philippine laws
and social situation Not fully does not require consultation with key
2.2 including nutrition and compliant stakeholders, and is primarily undertaken
food safety in consultation by public agencies with some private
with key stakeholders sector representation
Adoption of national Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act,
poverty reduction strategy Not fully the country’s national poverty reduction
3.4 that specifically addresses compliant law, does not specifically address access
access to adequate food to food, and adopts and implements

minimum basic needs approach
Partly Constitution and laws do not clearly and
7 Legal framework
compatible explicitly recognize right to adequate food
Facilitation of progressive Not fully Laws have only limited potential to
7.1
realization of right to addressed contribute to progressive realization of
adequate food the right to adequate food
Remedies incorporated in most laws;
AFMA contains provisions on legislative
oversight but manner of implementation
not reviewed in accord with explicit
Addressed recognition of right to adequate food so
7.2 Remedies with measuring compliance with state obligations
reservations
problematic; recourse mechanisms severely
lacking in ensuring state compliance with
obligations, but mechanisms for protection
of individuals from acts of other non-state
actors well developed
Laws only require information

Information on rights and Not
dissemination of rights of persons with
7.3 remedies addressed disabilities or food safety issues and
concerns and related offenses and penalties
Access by women heads

7.4 of households to poverty Not No law specifically enhancing access to
reduction and nutrition addressed food by women heads of households
security programs and
projects
Philippine Fisheries Code gives priority
to municipal fisher folk, including women
and youth; Indigenous Peoples Rights Act
recognizes rights of indigenous peoples to
full ownership, control and protection of,
among others, plant genetic resources, seeds,
8 vital medicinal plants, animals and minerals,
Partially
and Access to resources and etc.; High Value Crops Development
consistent
8.1 assets Act focuses on upland dwellers, lowland
tenants, indigenous peoples, agrarian reform
beneficiaries, farmer organizations or
cooperatives, farm workers and community
associations; Philippine legal framework

also provides mechanisms allowing landless
farmers’ access to land they can productively
till and exploit
Access of vulnerable While there are laws for indigenous
persons to opportunities Limited; peoples, women, solo parents, older
8.2 and economic negated persons, persons with disabilities and
resources persons living with HIV, these laws do not
recognize their
right to adequate food, so address food
access issues in very limited ways; effects
of Agricultural Tariffication Act double-
edged as it exposed small farmers to
vagaries of trade liberalization by allowing
importation of agricultural goods at same
time created Agricultural Competitiveness
Enhancement Fund for increasing
productivity of small farmers; full effect of
twin measures calls for quantification of
net effect on small farmers
Promotion of agricultural
research and development Labor Code provision prohibiting night
and basic food production Not work for women diminishes women’s
8.4 with “positive effects on addressed access to food
basic incomes and benefits
to small and women
farmers”
Access by medium and
Summary Review
Not
small scale farmers to
8.5 addressed
research results
enhancing food security
٠227
Improving access to labor Not
8.6
market addressed
Promotion of
Philippine Fisheries Code includes
women’s full and equal
provisions granting access by women to
participation in economy Partially
fishery and aquatic resources, and Migrant
8.7 and implementation addressed
Workers Overseas Act requires application
of gender sensitive
of gender sensitive criteria in policies and
legislation
plans for overseas Filipino workers
Mechanisms of access Various mechanisms instituted by laws

and appropriate use of including technology transfer, access

8.8 Addressed
agricultural land directed to credit, cooperative systems, grant of
to poorest populations incentives, etc.
Remuneration “allowing
for an adequate standard Not
8.9 of living for rural and addressed
urban wage earners and
their families”
Implementation of agrarian reform
program providing security of tenure to
Generally tenants and allowing landless farmers,
8.10 Land fulfilled including women, to own land re-
distributed by State;
women specifically allowed to be
beneficiaries in their own right
Irrigation Development Act provides
infrastructure to ensure water availability
for farmers, but must be balanced by
8.11 Water Fulfilled policies providing for safe drinking water
and need for power; tug-of-war in use
of water must be addressed to satisfy
contending needs
While Plant Variety Protection Act subject
of criticism for integrating agriculture
into a commercial relationship insofar
Genetic resources for Partially as planting materials are concerned, it
8.12 food and agriculture fulfilled still provides for use and recognition of
Summary Review
traditional varieties of seeds that may

protect genetic resources for food and
agriculture
٠229
9, 9.1 Food safety and consumer Generally
and protection compliant
9.2
Food safety laws designate Bureau of Food
and Drugs to undertake food products
analysis, inspection and certification using
Elimination of gaps and scientifically based standards, including
overlaps in inspection Codex Alimentarius standards; National
systems and in legislative Generally Meat Inspection Service tasked to undertake
9.3 and regulatory framework compliant meat/fowl inspections and issue safety
and use of scientific food certifications; provincial veterinary officer
standards responsible for meat/fowl regulation under
supervision of National Meat Inspection
Service; and local public health officer
responsible for sanitation inspections

National Nutrition Council established as
Establishment of national highest policy making and coordinating
Generally
coordinating committee body on nutrition, tasked, among others
9.4 compliant
for food to “supervise, coordinate and evaluate the
implementation of the integrated Philippine
Food and Nutrition Program”49
_______________
49
Section 5, Presidential Decree 491, Creating a National Nutrition Council and For Other Purposes.
Assistance to farmers and
Partially AFMA provides policy framework
primary producers to
9.5 fulfilled for extension support to farmers and
follow good agricultural
processors of food
practices
Education on safe
practices for food
manufacturers and Compliant
9.6
consumers and
information dissemination
on food safety concerns
Protection of consumers
Compliant
9.7 from deception and
misrepresentation
International assistance
9.8 Not addressed
and cooperation
Participation of key
Partially While many laws establish various bodies,
stakeholders in food
9.9 compliant laws do not specifically designate participation
policy discussions
by those most vulnerable to hunger
Compliant
10 Nutrition with some
provisions
Dietary diversity and
Food fortification and salt iodization
10.1 healthy eating habits and Compliant
adopted by law
feeding patterns
Prevention of over-
10.2
consumption and
and Some laws require food education and
unbalanced diets; Cultural Compliant
10.10 information dissemination
values of dietary
and eating habits

Other laws require inclusion of consumer
Parallel action in health,
education program in curricula of
10.7 education and sanitary Compliant
elementary and secondary levels and for
infrastructure
out-of-school youth
Involvement of all Laws do not require full participation of
10.3 Inconsistent
relevant stakeholders all key stakeholders
Milk Code and Rooming In laws were
Promotion and
adopted, but ban on advertising breast-
10.5 encouragement of Inconsistent
milk substitutes invalidated by Supreme
breastfeeding
Court
Information on feeding
Information dissemination requirements
of infants and young
included in Milk Code but there is no
10.6 children, including issues Inconsistent
information requirement on breastfeeding
regarding breastfeeding
and HIV infection
and HIV infection
Specific food and
Not addressed AIDS law does not address food and
10.4 nutritional needs of
nutritional needs of persons living with HIV
persons living with HIV
Eradication of Not addressed
10.8
discriminatory practices
Recognition of food
Not addressed
10.9 as important aspect of
Summary Review
culture
Education and awareness Partially
11
٠233
raising addressed
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act,
Human resource
11.1 Philippine Fisheries Code, Solo Parents’
development; primary
and Act, and Article 146 of Labor Code on
education opportunities Addressed
11.2 employment of house helpers include
especially for girls
support for human
and women
resource development
Agricultural and environmental
Partially education
Agricultural and
11.3 addressed not required by relevant laws, but
environmental education
consumer education required at primary
and secondary levels of public education
Higher education;
information to support
11.4 public participation;
to improvement of housing Not addressed
11.11 conditions; human rights
education; right to food
training and awareness-
raising; capacity building
remains unreachable to around 1.4 million beneficiaries50
working on 1.8 million hectares of land. This has seriously
impaired the availability of food to these beneficiaries
and greatly affected their capacity to earn incomes that
will allow access to food resources.” The authors also
recognized the “serious setbacks” in the implementation
of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act
(AFMA):
1. “The budget by components (in percentage terms)
was not followed;
2. There was bias for production-support, and
less and less in marketing, R & D, human
resources development and inter-agency
linkages;
3. There was little concern for regional priorities;
4. The need for sound criteria for project selection
was not explicit;
5. The role of private investments in growth and job
creation was not explicit; and
6. Program benefit monitoring and evaluation
(PBME) was severely inadequate which, in part,
affected the effectiveness of the Review Team to
conduct deeper analyses.”51
_______________
50
Department of Agrarian Reform Planning Service, CARP Sum-
mary of Data, (Unpublished presentation, December 2007)
51
Roland T. Dy et al, Modernizing Philippine Agriculture and
Fisheries, The AFMA Implementation Experience, (University of
Asia and the Pacific and Congressional Oversight Committee on
Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization, National Agricultural
and Fishery Council, Center for Research and Communication,
Sikap/STRIVE Inc, Quezon City, Philippines, 2008), page xlix.
Hereinafter referred to as “The AFMA Study”.
In addition, the authors recognized that “non-

implementation of the key provisions, primary of which
is the budget allocation to agriculture and fisheries, has
typified the neglect to agriculture.”
The authors saw “the dysfunction between the policy
of the government to increase agricultural productivity
and the agrarian reform program.” The authors also
recognized policy controversies between laws on
agricultural productivity and agrarian reform on the one
hand, and laws on agricultural tariffication, support for
biofuels, international trade, incentives to agricultural
production (including fiscal incentives), and intellectual
property, on the other hand. The authors strongly urged
harmonization of these dysfunctions.
But, at the same time, the authors also urged
clearer policy directions, including appropriate budget
support to ensure food availability. The authors stress:
“While market forces will primarily determine the
allocation of resources, government must institute the
policy directions to ensure that the availability of food
is not impaired.”
On food accessibility issues, the authors zeroed in on
the lack of clarity of food economic accessibility laws,
particularly the Price Act, and noted that, as a result of
vague provisions, “prosecution under this law has been
very hard and its enforcement is similarly difficult.” The
Price Act penalizes three acts of illegal price manipulation
(hoarding, profiteering and the act of forming a
cartel) but the law does not contain clear standards to
effectively prosecute anyone for any of these acts. For
example, the law defines hoarding as maintaining stocks
beyond normal inventories; the law says that evidence
sufficient to prove hoarding consists of instances where
inventories increase by 50 % more than the usual level
of inventory and the merchant refuses to sell the stock
upon discovery. No other standards exist to properly
identify hoarding, and prosecute hoarders. The same
vagueness attaches to the definitions of profiteering and
forming a cartel. In addition, the authors noted that
implementing the Price Act would result in “a logistical
nightmare that calls for
massive administrative
capabilities. While
implementation is
lodged with various
agencies, there is no
dedicated agency that
fulfills this function
except the Department
of Trade and Industry.”
The authors recognize that “the Price Act seeks

to control prices and availability” under emergency
conditions that “do not contemplate situations that are
brought under the normal course of price increases
in basic commodities that affect the most vulnerable.
Arguably, the Price Act may allow the determination of a
price ceiling in cases of unreasonable increases in prices.52
However, the determination of price ceilings is still by
and large subject to market forces.”
The authors acknowledge
the lack of a law mandating
direct food provision to those
most vulnerable. Despite the
absence of a law, the authors
noted the Ahon Pamilyang
Pilipino Program (APP) of
government—“essentially
a cash transfer program
conditioned on the fulfillment of several requirements
by qualified families or members of the families. Some of
these requirements are enrollment in schools, attending
family planning classes or regular preventive check-ups.”
The authors noted that the program “is currently not
covered by any legislation and has been criticized as an
expenditure that is not rooted in any budgetary allocation.
Without necessarily examining this legal issue, it is sufficient
to state that the APP is a transitory and unprogrammed
activity. This is a program of the current administration and
_______________
52
See Section 7 of RA 7581.
thus raises concerns. Foremost among these is the issue of
accountability and continuity as a program. The provision
of these cash transfers may not survive beyond the current
administration. The lack of a clear legal basis also makes
it difficult for the rights-holders to demand the continued
provision from the State. Finally, the assessment of the
program similarly lacks any basis beyond the program
documents. This does not mean that the program itself is
unsound or should not be undertaken. It simply means that
the lack of a clear legal basis breeds uncertainty in assessing
the legal framework. This also precludes enforcement
under the judicial system to provide for adequate food to
the most vulnerable groups.”
3. National budget does not reflect bias for addressing

hunger situation, thus causing “issues of poor
performance in implementation of the laws coupled
with a failure to harmonize conflicting policies.”
De los Reyes and Diokno (2008) also looked into the

impact of the national budget on the right to adequate
food, since “it reflects the extent of government spending
to address the hunger situation in the country. Based on a
line item analysis, the 2007 national budget was reclassified
by human right and function.” The authors found that
“the right to food is among the country’s lowest priority
areas for national spending, while debt service interest
payments constitute the second largest share of the 2007
national budget. The lack of priority given by the national
budget to the right to food does not indicate a bias towards
alleviating the hunger situation in the country.”
The authors disaggregated “right to food allocations

by typology of obligations,” and found “that government
was more concerned with allocating funds to enable it to
comply with its obligations to fulfill (facilitate) the right
to food, which received the largest share (89.47%) of
total food allocations. 8.52% of total food allocations
were allotted to enable government to fulfill (provide)
the right to food. Obligations to protect the right to
food were least funded, receiving only 1.25% of total
food allocations.” The authors also disaggregated
these allocations by normative element, and found that
“ensuring food physical accessibility appears to be the
highest priority of government spending, as this received
more than half (55.14%) of total food allocations. One-
third (33.56%) of total food allocations was allotted to
food availability, 10.15 % to food economic accessibility,
and less than one half of one percent (0.40%) to food
adequacy and safety.”
The authors also compared budgetary allocations over
three years, and found that “allocations for the right to
food decreased in 2006 by 8.41 % then increased in 2007
by 15.22 %. From 2005 to 2007, budgetary allocations for

the right to food increased by 5.52 %. As a share of the
country’s total budget, however, budgetary allocations for
the right to food actually decreased from 7.41 % in 2005
to 6.57 % in 2007.”
4. Recourse mechanisms to vindicate violations

of right to adequate food in place but may be
negated; mechanisms to enforce fulfillment of
state obligations inexistent.
De los Reyes and Diokno (2008) also reviewed the

country’s available recourse mechanisms, classifying
them “into three main forms of action. The first is
forcing the state to fulfill its obligations by undertaking
programs or allocating resources to implement the
right to food. The second is to prevent the state from
engaging in acts that may violate the right to food. The

third measure is to use the enforcement mechanisms
of the state to protect an individual’s right to food
that may have been violated by another individual or
juridical entity.”
The authors found loopholes and pitfalls in
the recourse mechanism to compel the state to
implement its fulfillment-bound obligations, as this
would require “a discovery process that will inquire
into the circumstances behind government’s decision
or inaction,” but because “the concept and doctrine
of executive privilege has been rapidly expanding,”
“attempts at discovering the reasons or the basis of
proposed policies will be extremely difficult.” The
authors also found that “forcing the legislature to
allocate resources is also doubtful,” citing a Supreme
Court case holding “that the act of the executive to
pursue an automatic appropriation for payment of the
debt in the budget submitted to Congress was simply in
compliance with such law. Without the Court explicitly
saying so, the wisdom of allocation of resources of the
State is a function that
is a political decision
of the executive branch
and the legislature.”
Thus, the authors
doubted whether “any
recourse mechanisms
under the judicial
system to force the state
to allocate resources or
undertake an act in pursuance of the right to adequate

food under the ICESCR, the Right to Food Guidelines,
or Optional Protocol, will prosper under the current
jurisprudence.” The authors also believe that cases seeking
to enforce the obligation of progressive realization had
“doubtful chances of success.”
As far as the second form of recourse mechanism is
concerned (e.g., “seek[ing] to prevent the government or
its agents from violating the economic, social or cultural
rights of individuals”), the authors acknowledged that
the Supreme Court had enforced economic, social and
cultural rights on various occasions. The authors found
that where cases involved claims of violations of economic,
social and cultural rights based on a law, “acts of the
government or its agents have been proscribed based on
the clear standards of the statute.” But cases involving
“violations of economic, social and cultural rights based
solely on constitutional provisions had lesser chances of
being proscribed.”
The authors found that the third form of recourse
mechanism (e.g., to prevent third parties from violating
the right to adequate food) is “well enshrined in the

Philippine system.” By way of example, the authors noted:
“violation of access to land under the agrarian reform law
may be prevented by using the quasi-judicial powers of
the Department of Agrarian Reform,” and violations of
food safety laws may be redressed through, among others,
the “withdrawal of authorization for the manufacture,
importation and distribution of food injurious to human
health, criminal prosecution of violation of food safety
laws aside from withdrawal of products from the market,
suits for damages over and above the remedies under the
Revised Penal Code and food safety laws,” etc.
The authors stress: “The main barrier to the use of
these mechanisms is the larger issue of access to justice.
This may take the form of financial barriers that prevent
the engagement of advocates or the opportunity cost that
such a suit will entail. This is similarly compounded by
the inefficiencies in the judicial system attributed to heavy
caseloads, severe lack of lawyers and a failure in case flow
management.”
5. National human rights institutions contribute

little to address hunger and provide redress for
breaches of the right to adequate food, due in
large measure to limitations in mandates.
De los Reyes and Diokno (2008) also looked into

the roles, mandates and activities of the Commission
on Human Rights and the Office of the Ombudsman.
The authors found that “limitations in their mandates
or lack of integration of their mandates to the right to
food” result in insignificant contributions “to address the

hunger situation in the country, and vindicate breaches of
the right to food.”
The Commission on Human Rights is primarily
mandated “to investigate cases involving violations of civil
and political rights.”53 The Supreme Court expressly ruled
that “the Commission’s investigative power [is limited]
to only all forms of human rights violations involving
civil and political rights.”54 As a result and because the
right to adequate food is an economic, social and cultural
right, the Commission is excluded from investigating any
violations of the right to adequate food.
“While the Constitution limits the Commission on
Human Rights’ mandate to investigate civil and political
rights, the Constitution does not, however, similarly limit its
_______________
53
Section 18, Article XIII, 1987 Constitution.
54
Citing Simon v. Commission on Human Rights, G.R. No. 100150,
5 January 1994; Cariño v. Commission on Human Rights, G.R. No.
96681, 2 December 1991; and Export Processing Zone Authority v.
Commission on Human Rights, GR No. 191476, 14 April 1992.
recommendatory, research and monitoring powers. Hence

the Commission undertook a project to ‘develop a common
framework for monitoring government’s compliance with its
obligations on the right to food.’55 The Commission’s project
involved the correlation of right to food obligations with
government agencies, the identification of “sets of indicators
on food adequacy, food sustainability, food availability, food
accessibility, and food safety, and corresponding responsible
agencies. No performance indicators were set to measure
food acceptability. This project appears to be the only activity
the Commission has undertaken to promote the right to food
in the country.”
The Office of the Ombudsman is mandated “to
investigate all kinds of malfeasance (wrongful or unlawful
act) and nonfeasance (failure to act when a duty to act
existed) committed by any public officer or employee
during his/her tenure of office (including acts that appear
illegal, unjust, improper or inefficient, non-performance
of any act or duty required by law, abuse or impropriety in
the performance of official duties) and determine causes
of inefficiency, red tape, mismanagement, fraud, and
corruption in government.”
_______________
55
Commission on Human Rights, “Indicators on the Right to Food,”
A Terminal Report on the Pilot-Study: Rights-Based Indicators on
Selected Economic, Social and Cultural Rights prepared by the
Government and Linkages Office (GovLink), Commission on Hu-
man Rights of the Philippines, undated.
“The Office of
the Ombudsman is
governed by Republic
Act 6770.56 This law
expands to some degree
the powers, functions
and duties of the Office.57
However, this law does
not directly link these
powers to human rights
obligations, much less to
those related to the right
to food. Because of this,
statistics provided by the
Office do not provide sufficient basis to determine whether it
investigates public officials who may be remiss in their duties
related to the right to food.”
6. Law making process leaves much to be desired.
De los Reyes and Diokno assessed 37 laws “to

determine the extent to which human rights principles
of participation, accountability, nondiscrimination,
_______________
56
An Act Providing for the Functional and Structural Organization
of the Office of the Ombudsman and for Other Purposes.
57
For example, the law grants the Office of the Ombudsman primary
jurisdiction over cases cognizable by the Sandiganbayan and
disciplinary authority over all elective and appointive officials of
the government, including Cabinet members, local government,
government-owned and controlled corporations, and their subsidiaries,
except government officials who may be removed only by
impeachment, members of Congress and the judiciary.
transparency, human dignity, empowerment and rule

of law were incorporated in law-making at the House
of Representatives. In general, the law making process
fails to meet these principles.”
The authors found that “participation in law making
was determined by invitations extended by the relevant
committee. Efforts to reach out to those most vulnerable
to hunger were largely dependent on the nature of the
bill. Of the 37 laws assessed, participation of those
most vulnerable to hunger (i.e., farmers, agricultural
workers, fisher folk, workers, persons with disabilities,
older persons, women, children and the urban poor)
was evident in the formulation of 9 laws.58 Those
most vulnerable to hunger were under-represented,
raising questions about the participatory nature of law
making.” The authors also found that “women’s rights
advocates were present at the committee meetings on
2 laws59 while child rights advocates were present at
the committee meetings on 2 laws.60 Consumer groups
_______________
58
RA 8178 (Agricultural Tariffication Act); RA 8550 (Philippine
Fisheries Code); RA 7900 (High Value Crops Development Act);
RA 6982 (Social Amelioration Program in Sugar Industry); RA
7277 (Magna Carta for Disabled Persons); RA 6727 (Wage
Rationalization Act); RA 7658 (An Act Prohibiting the Employment
of Children Below 15 Years of Age in Public and Private Un-
dertakings, Amending for this Purpose Section 12, Article VIII of
Republic Act 7610); RA 8425 (Social Reform and Poverty Allevia-
tion Act); and RA 9257 (Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003).
59
RA 6972 (Barangay Level Total Development and Protection of
Children Act) and RA 7192 (Women in Development and Nation
Building Act).
60
RA 6972 (Barangay-Level Total Development and Protection of
Children Act) and RA 7610 (An Act Providing for Stronger De-
terrence and Special Protection against Child Abuse, Exploitation and
Discrimination Providing Penalties for its Violation and for Other
Purposes).
were represented at the committee meetings on 3

laws.61 Private sector representatives (i.e., investors,
manufacturers, retailers, fishpond owners, importers,
traders, flour and sugar millers, seed, wheat and grains
producers, representatives from the steel industry, tin
industry, petroleum industry and glass industry, and
representatives of chambers of commerce) participated
in the deliberations of 14 laws.62 Departments and
agencies of government and government-owned
and controlled corporations participated in the
formulation of practically every law adopted by the
House of Representatives.”
On accountability, the authors were not able “to
identify [legislators’] financial and business interests and
assess the extent to which these interests influenced the
laws” as “copies of the Statements of Assets, Liabilities
and Net Worth of legislators who deliberated and acted
on these laws” were not made available to them. The
authors, however, found: “There is no standard number
of committee meetings required to deliberate on and
approve a bill. Some laws were passed after only one
_______________
61
RA 7394 (Consumer Act of the Philippines); RA 7581 (Price Act);
and RA 8172 (Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide).
62
RA 6978 (Accelerated Program for Construction of Irrigation Proj-
ects); RA 7308 (Seed Industry Development Act); RA 8800 (Safe-
guard Measures Act); RA 8178 (Agricultural Tariffication Act); RA
8550 (Philippine Fisheries Code); RA 8752 (Anti-Dumping Act);
RA 6982 (Social Amelioration Program in the Sugar Industry); RA
7581 (Price Act); RA 7394 (Consumer Act of the Philippines); RA
7277 (Magna Carta for Disabled Persons); RA 8291 (Revised Gov-
ernment Service Insurance System Act of 1977); RA 8289 (Magna
Carta for Small Enterprises); RA 8425 (Social Reform and Pov-
erty Alleviation Act); and RA 9257 (Expanded Senior Citizens
Act of 2003).
committee meeting, while others were passed after 8 to

15 committee meetings.” The authors further found:
“Not all members attended every committee meeting. In
some meetings, only one member was present; in other
meetings, as few as 2 to as many as 46 members were
present. Most committee meetings lasted between one to
two hours; the short period of time, together with under-
attendance by committee members, are not indicative of a
high degree of accountability in the rule making process.”
The authors looked into non-discrimination in
lawmaking “through the extent of participation of
indigenous peoples and women in the process. The
indigenous peoples were not represented during the
deliberations of 37 laws. In the deliberation of 4 laws,63
no women were present. Women outnumbered men in
the deliberations of only 3 laws;64 women and men were
equally represented in the committee meeting on one
law.65 Men outnumbered women in the deliberations of
the rest of the laws. The ratio of women to men who were
present during committee meetings varied from 1:10
to 4:10. Under-representation of women in committee
meetings contributed to the apparent gender-blindness
of many laws.”
_______________
63
RA 6978 (An Act to Promote Rural Development by Providing for
An Accelerated Program within a 10-Year Period for the Con-
struction of Irrigation Projects); RA 8751 (Countervailing Duty
Act); RA 6982 (Social Amelioration Program in the Sugar Indus-
try); and RA 8371 (Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997).
64
RA 7192 (Women in Development and Nation Building Act); RA
8972 (Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000); and RA 7600 (Rooming-
In and Breastfeeding Act of 1992).
65
RA 9257 (Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2003).
On transparency, the authors found that “copies

of bills, inputs, transcripts and other documents are
available only upon verbal or written request at the
Legislative Archives of the House of Representatives.
Bills, transcripts and other committee documents are
written in English and contain many legal and technical
terms; these documents would not be easily understood
by those most vulnerable to hunger. Despite being
public records, copies of the Statements of Assets,
Liabilities and Net Worth of legislators are not readily
accessible. Greater transparency in law making may be
enhanced if documents were more readily accessible
and were written in more easily understandable forms
and media.”
On human dignity, the authors found that “while

many bills appeared to have paid attention to those
most vulnerable to hunger, potential risks arising from
the bills were not identified so that risk management
to prevent starvation and hunger was not factored into
the final laws. In addition, no real hunger mitigation
strategies were considered, deliberated upon and
included in the final laws. It is thus questionable
whether the human rights principle of human dignity
was espoused and promoted in the formulation of
these laws.”
On empowerment, the authors doubted “whether those

most vulnerable to hunger were encouraged to engage
in rulemaking because they were not generally invited to
participate in the process. Because of under-representation
in law-making, efforts of those most vulnerable to hunger to
bring about the necessary changes to address their situation
were not referenced in the laws. Also, the dimensions of power
relations and structures were not exhaustively discussed during
committee meetings, so these did not find their ways into the
laws. The law making process does not appear to result in the
empowerment of those most vulnerable to hunger.”
On rule of law, the authors found that “in the formulation of
laws, access to justice, a key element of the rule of law embodied
in the Constitution66 and in human rights treaties,67 was not
discussed.” Access to justice involves, among others, costs of
seeking justice, but costs
were not considered during
the formulation of the 37
laws. “Laws relevant to the
right to food would be more
effective if the human rights
principle of the rule of law
were truly incorporated in
law making.”
_______________
66
Section 11, Article III, 1987 Constitution; see also Sections 12(1),
13, 14, 16, 19(1), Article III, 1987 Constitution.
67
See Articles 2(3), 14, and 17(2) of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights; Articles 2 and 15 of the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women;
Articles 4, 37, 39 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child; and Articles 5 and 6 of the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
7. Government and public awareness of the right
to adequate food lacking.
De los Reyes and Diokno (2008) considered the extent of

government and public awareness of the right to adequate food
and the obligations arising from it. The authors found that
government agencies concerned with the right to adequate
food were aware of the right, its normative elements and the
obligations to respect, protect and fulfill, largely as a result of
a project of the Commission on Human Rights. The authors,
however, noted, the rudimentary or elementary nature of
awareness of these government agencies, concluding: “Given
the initial lack of awareness by government agencies of state
obligations, and the apparent failure of the Commission to
initiate in-depth discussions on the varying levels and nature
of state obligations, it appears that government is still largely
unaware of its obligations related to the right to food.”
Public awareness of the right to adequate food, and the
obligations arising from it, was measured through a survey
conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) in the 3rd
week of June 2008.68 The survey found that only one out of five
Filipinos heard or read anything about the right to adequate
food. Awareness of the right “is slightly higher in Metro Manila
(25%) and Visayas (24%).” Awareness appears to correlate with
both income and education: those with higher income and
higher educational attainment are more likely to have heard or
read about the right to adequate food.
Respondents were also asked to describe the right to
adequate food. Roughly two-thirds described the right,
while the remaining third said they did not know how to
describe the right. Respondents able to describe the right
said it was having the correct food, freedom from hunger,
right to choose nutritious food, affordable food, etc. These
descriptions indicate a basic understanding of the right.
To determine the extent of awareness of the obligation
to protect the right to adequate food, respondents were
asked “whether or not industrial activities on productive
_______________
68
“The survey had a national sample of 1,200 statistically
representative adult respondents, for an error margin of ±3% at
the national level and ±6% at the major study areas: Metro
Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The survey uti-
lized face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire with
visuals. … 13% of the adult respondents are from Metro Ma-
nila, 44% from Balance of Luzon, 20% from Visayas and
23% from Mindanao. Fifty-six percent are from urban areas and
44% are from rural localities. … 6% [of respondents came from]
classes ABC, 65% [from] class D and 29% [from] class E. Thirteen
percent of adults had at most some elementary education; 30%
finished elementary education/had some high school education; two-
fifths (45%) finished high school/completed vocational school/
attended some college, while 11% graduated from college or took
post-graduate studies. Male and female respondents have a 1 to
1 ratio, and thus, are alternately sampled. By age group, 13% are
youth (18-24), 24% are intermediate youth (25-34), 22% are mid-
dle aged (35-44), 21% are 45 to 54 years old and 20% are 55 years
old and above.”
lands or other natural resources could impact availability
of food as it relates to their right to food.” Three-fourths
of the respondents said industrial activities could impact on
agricultural production and on the right to adequate food,
indicating “a rather high [public] awareness.” Location,
income and educational attainment appear to correlate with
awareness: awareness is higher in Metro Manila, among
classes ABC and D, and among college graduates.
To determine the level of awareness of the obligation
to respect the right to adequate food, respondents were
presented with a case, and asked to choose the course of action
government should take. The case involved the construction of
a hydro-electric dam that will supply electricity to several cities
and towns, but will partially submerge portions of public land
occupied by farmers planting corn and other subsistence crops.
More than a third of the respondents said ‘government should
not build the dam at all;’ one-fifth said government could build
the dam but must ‘pay the farmers disturbance compensation
equivalent to the value of their crops, their houses, and other
developments that they have made on the land;’ one-third said
‘government should build the dam only after the farmers
have been adequately compensated and resettled in a

decent place;’ and “twelve percent (12%) suggested that
the government should build the dam and pay the farmers
disturbance compensation equivalent to the value of their
standing crops.” Only 2% said “government should ‘build
the dam and evict the farmers.’” The varied responses
appear to indicate a lack of a common understanding of
the obligation to respect the right to adequate food.
Respondents were presented with four options from
which they were asked to choose the option that best
represented government’s obligations to consumers of
food products (e.g., protect and fulfill (facilitate) the right
to adequate food). Almost a third of the respondents chose
the “obligation to ensure that food products are properly
labeled as to their content/ingredients & nutritional
information.” About a fourth chose “the obligation to
monitor and regulate the prices of all food products,”
while another fourth chose the obligation to “monitor
and regulate the prices of basic food products.” One fifth
chose the obligation to enact and enforce regulations to
ensure the safety of food products. Again, the different
responses indicate a lack of common awareness of
obligations arising from the right to adequate food.
Awareness of the obligation to fulfill (provide) was
measured through two questions: respondents were first
asked whether the government had to feed them and their
families “a) only in case of calamities and disasters, b) at all
times, and c) not at all.” A little over half of the respondents
said government must feed them only in case of calamities
and disasters, “14% maintain that this should be done ‘at all
times.’ About a third (32%), however, maintain ‘it is NOT the
obligation of the government to feed me and my family at any

time.’” Respondents were also asked who should benefit from
government-subsidized food products: “a) all consumers
whether rich or poor, b) only for the poor, and c) not at all.”
More than half of the respondents said “‘government should
provide subsidized prices to all consumers whether rich or
poor.’ Only a little more than one-third (35%), think that
the ‘government should provide subsidized prices only for
those who are poor,’ while a tenth (11%) say the ‘government
should not sell subsidized prices to all.’” Based on these
responses, there does not appear to be a common public
understanding of the right to adequate food.
Legal Framework Analysis: Recommendations
In light of their findings, De los Reyes and Diokno

(2008) recommended three crucial steps:
First, the adoption of a national food framework law, “with
the full and active participation of all actors in the public and
private spheres, including those most vulnerable to hunger, along
the lines recommended by the United Nations Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in General Comment No.
12 (1999) and the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Right
to Food Guidelines (2004).” The national food framework law
should be based on the normative elements and obligations of the
right to adequate food, which should inform the law’s purpose,
goals, strategies, targets and benchmarks. It should prevent any
form of discrimination in access to food and food resources, and
should address critical issues in all aspects of food production,
processing, distribution, consumption, food prices, income and
employment, and other normative elements inherent in the
right to food. It should identify all available resources and impose
guidelines on the most cost-effective use of these resources.
It should incorporate appropriate institutional mechanisms,
administrative arrangements, monitoring mechanisms, recourse
mechanisms, and anti-corruption measures.
The national food framework law based on the right to
adequate food must address and redress prevailing national
and international food conditions and hunger challenges
facing the Philippines. Throughout the world, one in seven
persons goes hungry every single day;69 because only three
agribusiness firms control more than 90% of grain trade
_______________
69
OXFAM, 2011.
worldwide,70 these agribusinesses control the prices and

supply of staple food consumed by those living in poverty
worldwide. And, staple food prices are expected to double
by 2030, with the average cost of key crops projected to
increase by 120% - 180%.71 In the Philippines, 9.4 million
Filipinos are foodpoor.72 66.7 % of Filipino households
consume less than the dietary energy requirement.73 In
2008, 16 % of all Filipino mothers and 11 % of all Filipino
children experienced hunger and did not eat at all.74 And,
hunger keeps spreading: in 2011, more than one-fifth
(22.5%) of all Filipino families, or an estimated 4.5 million
families, experienced involuntary hunger.75
Thus it is today crucial to formulate, adopt and
implement the national food framework law based on
the right to adequate food. In crafting and implementing
such a law, it is essential that the PANTHER principles be
conscientiously applied through responsible collective action
that guarantees genuine, voluntary and free participation,
accountability of public officers and responsibility of
peoples and organizations, nondiscrimination in law
and in implementation, transparency of process in law
formulation and implementation, promotion of human
dignity through studied and careful risk assessment and
mitigation, empowerment of those most vulnerable to
hunger and incorporation of rule of law mechanisms to
ensure non-violation of the right to adequate food.
_______________
70
OXFAM, 2011.
71
OXFAM, 2011.
72
National Statistical Coordination Board, 2009.
73
Food and Nutrition Research Institute, 2008.
74
Food and Nutrition Research Institute, 2008.
75
Social Weather Stations, 2012.
Second, after adopting a national food framework

law, “the rationalization of the food legal framework by
synchronizing laws with the right to food, addressing
contradictions in policy objectives within and among
the various laws, correcting flaws and ambiguities,
repealing those laws (or provisions in laws) that obstruct
the realization of the right to food, aligning the national
budget to the national food policy, enhancing the
mandates of the national human rights institutions, and
improving the process of law-making.”
The authors specifically recommend, among others: (a)
passing a law to stabilize the agrarian reform program; (b)
reconciling contradictory implications on food availability
and food accessibility of RA 7900 (High Value Crops
Development Act); (c) amending the Price Act by clearly
defining illegal acts of price manipulation and setting
objective standards to allow the operation and enforcement
of the law; (d) reconsidering the one year ban on granting
minimum wage increases; and (e) incorporating temporary
special measures in all appropriate laws to address the
inherent disadvantages women face in the grant of titles,
leasehold agreements, credit, microfinance, access to pre-
and post-harvest facilities, marketing, technology transfer,
capital, fishing gear or equipment, etc.; requiring information
targeting addressed to women; including women in various
councils and boards created to address hunger; and ensuring
that gender-based decision making and gender division
of labor in food production, preparation, distribution and
consumption are referenced into all relevant laws.
Third, capacity development on the right to food, and
the rights based approach.
٠263
Assessment of the Philippine

Social Protection Floor Policies
by
Bread for the World

٠265
ASSESSMENT OF THE PHILIPPINE SOCIAL
PROTECTION FLOOR POLICIES
FEBRUARY 2012
I. Introduction
T his report is meant as a contribution to the

discussion about social protection in the
Philippines. It has been inspired by a series of previous
studies and contributions, mainly by ILO and ADB.
Nevertheless we are aware of the fact that it would
benefit from more up to date data and information –
though we are sure that our conclusions are relevant
and valid. We encourage all readers to provide us with
additional data and information in order to improve the
report. But we are confident that the report as it is reflects
well the situation in the Philippines and the existing gaps
in social protection.
We are aware that the Government has undertaken
major efforts in the last decade, namely the
introduction of the 4-P CCT scheme, the enlargement
of the sponsored membership of PhilHealth and the
ongoing discussions about the introduction of an
unemployment scheme inspired by the example of e.g.
Vietnam.
Nevertheless this reports highlights gaps and
deficiencies in order to strengthen the general trend in
the country to improve coverage and benefits of social
protection. We would be happy to get a broad and critical
feedback, and maybe even better up-to date data than the
one we used.
II. Context
A. Geography and Administration
The Philippines is a group of islands in southeastern

Asia between the Philippine Sea and the South China
Sea, east of Vietnam. It has three major island groupings
– Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. It has a land area of 300,
000 sq km. and an extensive coastline of about 36,289 km.
By virtue of the “Integrated Reorganization Plan”
issued by President Ferdinand E. Marcos in 1972, the
country was divided into eleven administrative and
planning regions, each with a regional center or capital.
Today the number of regions has grown to seventeen.
Key ministries then (now called departments) and other
government agencies were regionalized and decentralized.
Within each region, there are local government units at
the provincial, city, municipal and barangay1 levels. As of
year 2010, the Philippines has 79 provinces, 117 cities,
1,505 municipalities and 41,974 barangays.
In terms of the country’s political structure, the
Philippines has a presidential form of government with
three separate branches: the executive, the two-chamber
legislature and the judiciary. The president is both
the head of state and the head of government within a
multi-party system. The executive power is exercised by
the government under the leadership of the president.
Legislative power is vested in both the government
and the two-chamber congress—the Senate (the upper
_________________________
1
Barangays or villages are the smallest political units.
Assessment of the Philippine Social Protection Floor Policies ٠267
chamber) and the House of Representatives (the lower

chamber). Judicial power is exercised by the courts with
the Supreme Court of the Philippines as the highest
judicial body.
B. Population
The current population (2011) of the Philippines is

95,6 million making it the world’s 12th most populous
country. The country has one of the highest population
growth rates in East Asia, exceeded only by Cambodia
and Laos. From an annual rate of 2.36 percent in 1995
– 2000 population growth rate decelerated to 1.6 %
in 2010. Population is projected to grow at an average
rate of 1.5% from 2011 to 2015. By 2015 the country’s
population reaches 110 million.
The country has one of the youngest populations
among Asian countries with those in the age 25-39 bracket
comprising the dominant group; the median age is just
22.5 years. Amongst Asian countries only Malaysia, India
and the Philippines show positive growth on the age group
below 25 years old whilst all the other countries in the
region are experiencing an ageing population. Projections
show that people over 65 years old will account for only
8% of the Philippine population in 2030.
The Philippines is rated as one of the fastest
urbanizing developing countries in Asia. About 54%
of the country’s population live in the urban areas,
compared to less than 50% in Indonesia, around 50%
in China and 33% in Thailand. The urban growth
rate has averaged around 4% annually for the last
50 years - substantially above the overall population

growth rate. This trend results from factors such as
high natural increase, rapid rural-urban migration and
reclassification of local government units.
26 out of the country’s 65 cities were classified as
100% urban in 1995. By the year 2000 the total number
of Philippine cities has grown to 100 and there are now
117 cities. By 2030, it is projected that three out of every
four Filipinos will live in cities.
C. Labor Market
The working age population in the Philippines

is 62 million (2011). The labor force, based on a
participation rate of 66.3 % is 41.2 million. Out of
these, 6.4% are unemployed. Another 19.1% are
underemployed.
Table 1: Philippine Labor Market

2010 2011
Population 15+ 61,169,000 62,165,000
Participation Rate 64,20 66,30
Unemployment Rate 7,10 6,40
Unemployment 19,60 19,10
Source: NSO 2011
The largest employer is the service sector (see

Figure 1), mainly wholesale and retail, transport, public
sector, education and private households. The share
of employment in industry is shrinking, while those in
agriculture and services are on the increase.
Figure 1: Employed Persons by Industry Group
The following Table 2 shows the unemployment

and underemployment rates in the different regions in
the Philippines which vary considerably. The highest
unemployment rate is in the National Capital Region
(13.5 %), the lowest in Region II (Cagayan Valley, 2.8%)
and ARM Mindanao (1.5%).
The largest group of the unemployed are young
people between 15 and 24 (50% of all unemployed).
Interestingly, nearly 85% of the unemployed have a
high school or college diploma. Only very few have no
education at all or elementary school only.
Overall unemployment in the Philippines has been
so far stable (2011) compared to the previous years.
Underemployment has even slightly decreased (see Table
1) and it lies within the longer lasting trend.
In the wake of the global financial crisis, the most
vulnerable workers are those in the export-oriented
industries such as electronics, call centers and textile
Table 2: Unemployment and Underemployment Rates 2009

Unemployment Underemployment
Rate Rate
NCR 13.5 12.4
Cordillera Administrative Region 4.2 17.9
Region I - Ilocos Norte 8.3 15.6
Region II - Cagayan Valley 2.8 16.7
Region III - Central Luzon 8.5 5.4
Region IVA - Calabarzon 9.9 15.4
Region IVB - Mimaropa 4.5 25.4
Region V - Bicol Region 6.5 36.8
Region VI - Western Vizayas 7.9 26.8
Region VII - Central Vizayas 7.3 12.6
Region VIII - Eastern Vizayas 5.0 28.7
Region IX - Zamboanga Peninsula 3.8 27.4
Region X - Northern Mindanao 5.2 24.5
Region XI - Davao Region 6.2 23.4
Region XII - Soccsksargen 4.4 19.9
Caraga 5.1 26.8
ARMM 1.5 13.0
Source: Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics, 2009
NCR=National Capital Region
ARMM=Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao
manufacturing. Indeed, several companies reported

either laying off workers or cutting working hours
as the crisis reduced demand for Philippine exports.
The Philippine Labor Department reported that
some 40,000 workers were retrenched, 33,000 workers
experienced shorter working hours while over 5,400
overseas Filipino workers were displaced because of
the financial crisis. The figures compared to total
employment are small. In addition, the economy was

kept afloat by the steady flow of remittances despite
forecasts by the international financial institutions
that these would decline. The National Economic
and Development Authority (NEDA) forecast that
in a pessimistic scenario as much as 200,000 workers
may be laid off, as the crisis continues to hurt the local
economy. But this has not yet materialized and there
are signs of an economic recovery. Even pessimistic
forecasts expect the unemployment level not to hit the
double-digit levels recorded several years ago.
Nevertheless, an unemployment rate between 7%
and 8% of the Philippine workforce is one of the highest
rates in Asia (the Asian average lies around 5%). Also,
the labor force in the Philippines is growing fast due to
specific demographic reasons, so that net employment
needs to increase substantially every year in order to
avoid unemployment growing.
Little is known about the nature of unemployment but
it is very likely that most of it is short term unemployment.
Firstly, there is a high level of fluctuation in the labor market
in the Philippines due to relatively rigid labor laws (after 6
months of employment it is practically impossible to retrench
someone, which leads to the fact that many employers
retrench workers before the completion of their 6 months
of contract); and, secondly, there is hardly any worker in the
Philippines who can afford long term unemployment, given
the fact that there is practically no unemployment benefit.
The Philippine labor market is to a large extent
not formalized. Only 9.5 million people or 25%
(7.5 million employees and 2 million self-employed)
Table 3: Size of Establishments Formal Sector 2007
Size of Establishments Number of Number of Average
(Employees) Establishments persons employed size
1 to 4 639,825 81,62% 1,154,639 22,26% 2
Micro
2 to 9 80,259 10,24% 507,254 9,78% 6
10 to 19 37,600 4,80% 483,651 9,32% 13
Small 20 to 49 15,240 1,94% 452,223 8,72% 30
50 to 99 5,358 0,68% 361,918 6,98% 68
Mediuma 100 to 199 2,919 0,37% 396,066 7,63% 136
200 to 499 1,760 0,22% 537,072 10,35% 305
500 to 999 543 0,07% 368,665 7,11% 679
Large
1,000 to 1,999 223 0,03% 310,801 5,99% 1,394
2,000 and over 142 0,02% 615,513 11,86% 4,335
Total 783,869 100,00% 5,187,793 100,00% 7
formal sector in the Philippines works in establishments with less than 10 employees (the average
establishment has 7 employees, see also Table 3 and Table 4), Including the informal sector,
nearly 70% of workers are in establishments of less than 10 employees. private sector). About
30% of the labor force in the workers are covered by social insurance (public and out of 38 million
Table 4: Number of Establishments by Employment Size and Sector, 2007
Total Micro Small Medium Large
Agriculture 5,765 4,190 2,303 160 152
Industry 121,832 107,288 12,116 1,241 1,187
Services 656,272 609,181 44,244 1,518 1,329
Total 783,869 720,659 58,663 2,919 2,668
% 100,00% 91,9% 7,5% 0,4% 0,3%
Source:National Statistics Office 2007
D. The Economy
The Philippine economy is marked by slow growth and inequity. From underperformance
between the years 1998 to 2001, Gross Domestic Product grew to 4.3% in 2002, 4.7% in 2003,
and about 8,9% in 2010. “Coming from a high base erected by election related expenditures last
year, the domestic economy continued to decelerate, posting a 3.4 percent growth during the
second quarter of 2011. This is less than half the booming 8.9 percent growth in 2010”.2
Aside from remittances from OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers) the other drivers of growth
include services which are highly dependent on telecommunications and agriculture which is
_________________________
2
http://www.nscb.gov.ph/sna/2011/2nd2011/2011hi2.asp
Figure 2: GINI in the Philippines 1985 - 2005
Source: World Bank Indicators: See http://www.tradingecoinomics.com/philippines/gini-index-wb-data.html

vulnerable to weather disturbance. Analysts say that these

industries create little impact on employment generation
in terms of the creation of permanent jobs for the working
age population.
Analysts also project that it will take a higher,
sustained growth path to make appreciable progress in
poverty alleviation given the Philippines’ high annual
population growth rate and unequal distribution of
income. With a population growth of 2% a real growth
rate of 2% is needed to keep the per capita income
constant. In 2003, the poorest 10% had 2.3 % share
in total consumption while the richest 10% had about
32% of the total, which shows the unequal distribution
of income in the country (the GINI lies above 0.40, see
Figure 2). Per capita income grew by 2.9 percent in 2005
down from 3.8 percent in 2004.
Foreign direct investment has been sluggish indicating
low investor confidence on the economic and political
situation. Foreign direct investment in 2004 leveled off at
$1 billion, well below the $3 billion to $4 billion of other
ASEAN countries. For the private sector, the investment
climate is adversely affected by complicated procedures,
high transaction costs, infrastructure constraints,
uncertain regulation, weak financial intermediation and
growing competition among neighboring countries for
foreign direct investment (FDI)3. Among the top investors
in the country are the United States of America, Japan,
China and the Netherlands.
________________________
3
American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. Roadmap II
More Foreign Investment. Makati Philippines, June 2004
E. Government Expenditure
Since 2003, the Congress passed a re-enacted budget

4
. The legislated re-enacted budgets mainly comprised
the primary obligation of the national government which
are debt servicing and maintenance of the government
bureaucracy. The bulk of the government’s debts went to
debt servicing in large, unprofitable public enterprises,
especially in the energy sector. Only about an average
of 15 percent of total expenditures was allocated to the
improvement of infrastructures and delivery of social
services. The Philippines’ external debt against GDP was
one of the highest amongst developing countries.5
The government has considered adopting measures
to deal with huge deficits and to source new funds for
government for infrastructures, for example, cutting its
sovereign bond offering. In 2007 the government has
approved the reduction in the offshore bond issuance plan
and decided to tap cheaper official development assistance
loans and domestic borrowings. The government also
plans to source a much bigger portion from ODA assisted
program and project loans which have lower interest
rates and longer repayment terms rather than the more
_________________________
4
A re enacted budget means that mandatory expenditures of debt
service, personnel expenses and internal revenue allotment for the
previous years are carried on and adjusted for requirements in the
ensuing budget year. The President of the Philippines as provided
by the Constitution reallocates line item amounts budgeted in the
previous years for projects that are completed or for other reasons
do not require the funds in the following year.
5
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Table 5: Public Budget Philippines 2009-2012
CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC SECTOR FINANCIAL POSITION, 2005-2012
Levels (In Billion Pesos) As Percent of GDP
Particulars
2009 2010 2011 2012 2009 2010 2011 2012
Actual Preliminary Revised BESF Actual Preliminary Revised BESF
PUBLIC SECTOR BORROWING REQUIREMENT (329,852) (383,111) (329,682) (317,738) (4.1) (4.3) (3.3) (2.9)
National Government (298,532) (314,458) (300,000) (286,000) (3.7) (3.5) (3.0) (2.6)
CB Restructuring (8,759) (7,689) (6,095) (6,081) (0.1) (0.1) (0.1) (0.1)
Monitored Government-Owned and -Controlled Corporations (GOCC) (19,300) (71,007) (42,035) (28,031) (0.2) (0.8) (0.4) (0.3)
Adjustment in Net Lending and Equity to GOCCS (3,261) 9,927 18,449 3,373 (0.0) 0.1 0.2 0.0
Other Adjustment - 0.116 - - - 0.0 - -
OTHER PUBLIC SECTOR 89,706 20,285 88,265 83,755 1.1 0.2 0.9 0.8
SSS/GSIS/PHIC 44,500 39,268 39,160 30,873 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.3
Baqngko Sentral ngPilipinas (BSP) (0,168) (63,722) 1,000 1,000 (0.0) (0.7) 0.0 0.0
Government Financial Institutions 10,800 7,939 11,190 11,577 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Local Government Units 34,695 33,525* 36,915 40,305 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
Timing Adjustment of Interest Payments to BSP (0,328) 0,395 - - (0.0) 0.0 - -
Other Adjustments 0,207 2,880 - - 0.0 0.0 - -
CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC SECTOR SUPPLIES (DEFICIT) (240,146) (362,826) (241,417) (233,984) (3.0) (4.0) (2.4) (2.1)
Nominal GDP (in billion pesos) 8,026,143 9,003,480 9,932,508 11,011,181
*2010 Preliminary Actual

Source: Department of Finance

expensive commercial borrowings.6 From 2009-2012,

the public borrowing as % of GDP went down (see
Table 5).
F. Health
Estimated life expectancies at birth in 2005 were 68.72

and 74.74 for males and females respectively (2011 est.)7.
Official estimate on the infant mortality rate was
about 19.34 for every 1,000 live births (2011 est.) which
shows a better picture compared with the rate of 36.10
years earlier.
Much of the country’s population resides in thousands
of dispersed rural villages. Local midwives and community
health workers therefore play an important role in birth
deliveries in addition to that played by doctors in the hospitals
and clinics. About 68% of births were attended by skilled
health staff, about 27% by trained midwife and about 4% by
untrained hilots (midwives) from the villages (NEC-DOH).
Among the poor about 21% of births were attended by skilled
health staff compared to 92% in the richest quintile (WB).
Maternal mortality ratio (deaths of women from
pregnancy - related causes per 100,000 live births) has
decreased from 209 in 1990 to 150 in 2010 (NSCB).
If we compare the Philippines to similar countries in
the region, it can be seen that even taking into account
_________________________
6
Dumlao, Doris. 2006. Government cuts planned ’07 bond offer to
$900 M. Philippines Daily Inquirer. November 13,2006.
7
http://www.indexmundi.com/philippines/life_expectancy_at_birth.
html
Table 6: Health Expenditure in Selected Countries, 2006
Total Expenditure Gov. Exp. on Per Capita total Per Capita Gov. GDP per Capita
on Health and % Health as % of Exp. on Health Exp. on Health (ppp in US$)
of GDP total health exp. (ppp in US$) (ppp in US$)
Indonesia 2,1 5,1 78,0 36,0 3,990,0

Malaysia 4,2 7,0 454,0 203,0 24,225,0
Philippines 3,3 5,5 199,0 72,0 3,539,0
Thailand 3,5 11,3 323,0 207,0 8,379,0
Vietnam 6,0 5,1 221,0 57,0 2,774,0
Average 3,8 6,8 255,0 115,0 6,581,0
Source: WHO
Source: NSCB, PHILHEALTH
different GDP levels health expenditure in % of GDP in the Philippines is among the lowest
(Table 6). This corresponds to the findings of the “ADB social protection index”8.
_________________________
8
The study showed that the level of social protection in the Philippines is below the average of Asia. Indicators were
Social Protection expenditure as share of GDP, coverage, distribution of benefits and level of benefits. See Baulch,
Weber, Wood: Social Protection Index for Committed Poverty Reduction. Volune 2: Asia. Manila 2008.
Figure 3: Expenditure Structure of PhilHealth
Source: PhilHealth
Table 7: Health Expenditure Structure in the Philippines

2005
National Government 16%
Local Governments 13%
Philhealth 11%
OOP 48%
Private Insurance 2%
HMOs 4%
Employers 3%
Private Schools 1%
Others 1%
Total 100%
Source: WHO 2008
On the other hand, coverage is among the best.

Total expenditure on the mainstream programs of
PhilHealth in 2008 was around PhP 21,3 billion (450
million US$). The Reserve that PhilHealth accumulated,

amounted to about 50bn Pesos (1.1 US $) / 90bn (US $
2 bn) total assets, which is more than two / four annual
incomes. If we look at the total health expenditure in the
Philippines, we see that PhilHealth plays a relative sub-
ordinate role (see Table 7) with out of pocket payments
(OOP) representing around 48% of the total expenditure.
This shows that there is still room for expanding
PhilHealth financing. The average support value of Phil-
Health benefits (meaning the average % of the amounts
of medical bills reimbursed) is higher in some provinces;
it is lower in secondary level facilities and in Metro Ma-
nila. The reason for this is that the PhilHealth benefits
are capped and there are no efficient cost controls in
place. This means that maximum amounts are paid de-
pending on the level of the facility (primary up to tertiary)
and the diagnosis. These maximum amounts rarely cover
the actual medical bill.
G. Poverty and Inequality
Under the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation

Act, the poor are defined as those families and individuals
whose income falls below the poverty threshold and who
cannot afford to provide for their minimum basic needs
in a sustained manner.
Poverty thresholds (or poverty lines) are determined
annually for urban and rural areas to provide both for
food requirements and other basic needs. Nationally, the
2009 poverty threshold was set at PhP 16,841 (which is
still valid), of which 67% was intended for sustaining food
needs and the balance of 33% was for other basic needs.
In urban areas, the poverty threshold was a bit higher
than in rural areas. The impact of inflation on incomes is
important. People who had managed to make ends meet
in one year had to earn 5-6 percent more income the
following year to remain above the poverty line.
Despite the low rates of GDP per capita increase over the
last 20 years, and perhaps reflecting the impact of remittances
on household incomes, poverty rates in the Philippines
substantially reduced between 1985 and 1997 in both urban
and rural areas. Poverty has continued to remain higher in
rural areas; and the gap appears to be widening. In all years,
poverty in the National Capital Region (Metro Manila)
has been substantially less than in other urban areas of the
country. The poverty trend since 1997 is harder to estimate
owing to changes in the methodology consequent revision
of the 2000 estimates 9 . The general situation appears that
to be that poverty rates are again decreasing following a
significant rise between 1997 and 2000 following the Asian
financial crisis. In 2009 there were 3.85 million poor families
in the Philippines, which corresponds to about 20% of the
population (see Table 8).
Given the country’s high population growth rates and
presence of a big proportion of poor people the country
has to make significant progress in poverty alleviation and
undertake programs that protect the poor and the vulnerable.
________________________
9
See www.adb.org/Documents/ Books/ Poverty-in-the-Philippines/
executive-summary.pdf, and http://www.worldbank.org.ph/WBSITE
/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/
PHILIPPINESEXTN/0,, menuPK:332992~pagePK:141132~piP
K:141107~theSitePK:332982,00.html.
Table 8: Poverty Incidence Philippines

Poverty incidence among families
Region
2003 2006 2009
Philippines 20.0 21.1 20.9
Caraga 37.6 36.9 39.8
ARMM 25.0 36.5 38.1
Region IX 40.5 34.2 36.6
Region V 38.0 36.1 36.0
Region VIII 30.2 31.1 33.2
Region X 32.4 32.7 32.8
Region VII 32.1 33.5 30.2
Region XII 27.2 27.1 28.1
Region IV-B 29.8 34.3 27.6
Region XI 25.4 26.2 25.6
Region VI 23.5 22.1 23.8
Region I 17.8 20.4 17.8
CAR 16.1 18.6 17.1
Region II 15.2 15.5 14.5
Region III 9.4 12.0 12.0
Region VI-A 9.2 9.4 10.3
NCR 2.1 3.4 2.6
Source: NSCP Oficial Poverty Statistics 2009;
NCR is National Capital Region
III. Description of Social Protection in the Philippines
Unlike in most Asian countries, the term ‘Social

Protection’ is known and used in the Philippines. In
2005, the National Anti-Poverty Coalition (NAPC),
a coordinating body for poverty reduction oriented
programs, convened a consultation meeting with
agencies. During that meeting a definition of social
protection was proposed based around three elements

and/or approaches: (i) management of risks and
vulnerability; (ii) protection of the welfare of the poor
and vulnerable, and (iii) improvement of their capacities
to confront and deal with risks. Based on these, the
following operational definition of social protection was
proposed:
“Social protection constitutes policies, programs, and
interventions that seek to reduce the susceptibility of the
poor and vulnerable to risks: through the promotion and
protection of livelihood and employment, improvement
in their capacity to manage risks and their protection
from disruption or loss of income, loss of welfare and
diminished wellbeing.”
The management of risks implies the capacity to
foresee, measure, deal/manage risks before and especially
when it happens for both provider and recipient. Capacity
constitutes organizational, financial and technical
capabilities to carry out the management of risks with
respect to providers or implementers such as government,
local governments, firms, communities. Capacity on
the part of the poor implies access to social protection
instruments and information to better prepare them for
any eventuality.
While the proposed definition of social protection in
the Philippines is evolving, it is, in most respects, very
similar to the definition adopted by ADB and World
Bank, involving as it does the following categories of
programs: labor market interventions, social insurance,
social welfare and social safety nets. It should however
be noted that micro-credit/ finance schemes are also
included in the ADB definition given their importance

to the livelihoods of poor people in many Asian countries
and involve a mobilization (if not direct transfer) of funds
to individual households.
The majority of the information was gathered from
the ADB Social Protection Index Study and related
studies as well as from ILO Studies.10
A. Labour Market Programs
The Department of Labor and Employment

(DOLE), in coordination with other agencies and private
organizations, undertakes programs that could provide
bridging or transition opportunities, especially to the
vulnerable sectors to help them obtain productive and
formal employment or livelihood. The implementation
and enhancement of labor market programs consist of
capacity building, livelihood generation, employment
assistance, scholarship grants for indigent families to
pursue technical or vocational courses, and others. The
most important of these programs are summarized in the
following paragraphs.
1. Unemployment Benefits
The current situation in the Philippines is that workers,

who lose their jobs, mostly (except GSIS-means public
sector social insurance members) have no unemployment
________________________
10
Baulch, Weber, Wood: Social Protection Index for Committed
Poverty Reduction. Manila 2008
insurance. However, there is a variety of laws and benefits

that give workers some kind of protection:
٠ Public employees can avail of a regular
unemployment benefit from GSIS (50%
of the average monthly compensation,
maximum 6 months, see also GSIS Act in
the attachment). This, however, is little
known by employees and consequently
hardly practiced. The condition is,
however, that he or she at the time of
separation is a permanent employee. To
date, many public employees are on fixed
term contracts, so they are not protected
by this provision.
٠ Employers are obliged to pay for each year
of contract one month of severance pay.
This, however, is mostly practiced in the
formal sector. Especially in the informal
sector and in small enterprises (less than
10 employees), most employers tend to
neglect this obligation.
٠ Formal sector employees can avail of a loan
(80% of the savings) from Pag-Ibig Fund to
bridge the period of unemployment. This,
however, is only a substantial amount if
workers have fulfilled a number of years of
contract. In terms of optimal social policy
outcomes, this is also limited.
٠ Formal sector employees can avail of a loan
from SSS (maximum 24,000 Pesos) based
on their pensions savings.
٠ All workers can avail of 3 months

contribution-free health insurance
(PhilHealth) coverage as long as they
have paid their premiums.
٠ Unemployed workers can obtain assistance
from PESO offices and from TESDA (job
facilitation and training).
For the rest, most of the unemployed depend on
family support if they have no savings or their own means.
To lose a job in most cases also means a loss of regular
income for the family.
2. The Public Employment Service Office
The Public Employment Service Office or PESO is

a free of charge employment service facility initiated by
the Department of Labor and Employment pursuant to
Republic Act No. 8759 otherwise known as the PESO Act
of 1999. The PESO facility has been established in many
capital towns of provinces, key cities, and other strategic
areas to expand the existing employment facilitation
service machinery of the government particularly at
the local levels. The PESO is maintained largely by
local government units (LGUs) and a number of non-
governmental organizations (NGOs) or community-
based organizations (CBOs) and state universities and
colleges (SUCs). The regional offices of the DOLE
provide coordination and technical supervision among
the PESO offices.
The PESO aims to provide timely and efficient
delivery of employment service and information
of other DOLE programs. It provides jobseekers/

clients with adequate information on employment
and labor market situation in the area; and networks
with other PESOs within the region on employment
for job information exchange purposes. Employers are
encouraged to submit to the PESO on a regular basis a
list of job vacancies in their respective establishments,
administer testing and evaluation instruments for
effective job selection, training and counseling; conduct
employability enhancement trainings/seminar, provide
occupational counseling and other related activities.
Among the activities and events that PESO
supports are jobs fairs, livelihood and self-employment
bazaars, extend Special Credit Assistance for Placed
Overseas Workers , Special Program for Employment
of Students and Out-of-School Youth, Work
Appreciation Program (WAP), Workers Hiring for
Infrastructure Projects (WHIP) and other programs/
activities developed by DOLE to enhance provision of
employment assistance to PESO clients, particularly
for special groups of disadvantaged workers such
as persons with disabilities (PWDs) and displaced
workers.
In 2010, some 1 million jobseekers were employed
with the help of PESO. For the same year DOLE Central
Office allocated PhP 10 million to support the various
PESO activities. LGUs and other PESO supporters
augmented the funds coming from the central office for
the implementation of the various activities of PESO but
the amount of this money at the local units could not be
ascertained.
3. Promotion of Rural Employment

(PRESEED)
PRESEED, a centerpiece project of the DOLE, was

developed in response to the limited wage employment
opportunities in the rural areas. The program assists in
job creation or expansion of livelihood projects from
client development and training, to technical assistance
and consultancy services. DOLE regional offices form
partnerships with accredited partners like NGOs, private
sector, private voluntary organizations, labor unions,
cooperatives, local government units and others to
implement the PRESEED project.
Individuals and organizations are eligible to participate
in the program. The unemployed or underemployed,
with family incomes below the poverty threshold and
have passed entrepreneurial tests administered by the
accredited partners and validated by the DOLE regional
offices are eligible for participation.
Organizations that are interested to participate must
have a legal constitution, demonstrate the attributes of a
functional organization, e.g. conducting regular meetings,
have at least a minimum amount of organizational funds
to sustain the current operational level of its existing
activities and projects (funds from dues, membership fees,
and other income generating projects) and have at least
two years of continuing experience in successful projects
(SEPs), mobilization or any project – simple or complex –
planning and implementation and evaluation.
For 2010, the number of jobs created by PRESEED
amounted to 10,000.
4. K a l i n g a s a Ma n g g agawa (Wo rkers

Microfinance Program)
This program aims to help workers fund livelihood projects

for workers whether in private, public or informal sectors and
their organizations. DOLE, SSS, GSIS, DBM and ECC have
contributed PhP 25 million each to this facility for the workers.
Among the beneficiaries of the program are the displaced
workers in the formal and informal sectors or those who are
not employed or fully employed, workers with existing micro
enterprise venture needing expansion, workers with no
existing micro enterprise and have participated in a livelihood
training. To participate in the program one must:
٠ Have at least one year residency in the area;
٠ The micro enterprise should have weekly
or daily income;
٠ Must be 18-65 years old;
٠ One member per household can apply;
٠ Not presently employed or has no fulltime
employment;
٠ No existing loan with MFI / PCFC;
٠ Household monthly income of not more than
PhP 10,000 or below the poverty threshold.
For 2010, there were some 2000 beneficiaries of the
program.
5. Kasanayan at Hanapbuhay (KasH)
KasH is a training and capacity building program for

the vulnerable sector to help them graduate into more
productive, or more formal employment or livelihood.
Assessment of the Philippine Social Protection Floor Policies٠293
It is an apprenticeship and employment program that

provides a bridging mechanism for new entrants to the
labor force by giving them the opportunity to acquire
basic skills and work experiences needed by employers in
hiring new employees. The program matches jobseekers
with available jobs and ensure that there are qualified
skilled workers based on industry needs. Any unemployed
person 15 years old and above can apply for apprenticeship
with any participating enterprise that should be duly
registered with appropriate government authorities and
has ten (10) or more regular workers. The enterprise shall
accept apprentices of not more than twenty (20) percent
of its total regular workforce.
Apprenticeship programs run to six months. Many
employers have been dissatisfied with the provision of the
apprenticeship law (Executive Order 11) and proposed to
amend the law to waive the apprentice allowance level
of 75% of the minimum wage to what employers can
realistically afford and to allow employers with less than
ten (10) workers to employ apprentices.
As at end November 2010 there were some 100,000
apprentices trained. The cost of partnering between the
government and the various enterprises in 2010 could not
be determined but was considered minimal.
6. Tulong Alalay sa Taong May Kapansanan
This program has been developed to assist in the

integration of persons with disability in the mainstream
of society through training and employment. Selected
government and private training institutions would
undertake training programs suited to their interests,

potentials and circumstances to enhance the employability
of persons with disabilities (PWDs). The PWDs have the
option to choose from any of the following training areas:
industrial skills, livelihood skills and entrepreneurship
skills.
PWDs whose qualifications are suited for wage
employment are referred to private companies or
government agencies where job vacancies are made
available for them. For this purpose, a skills pool of
PWDs as well as list of prospective employers shall be
maintained for quick reference. PWDs who are inclined
towards self - employment shall be encouraged to set up
their own self - employment projects either individually
or in group. Technical as well as financial assistance shall
be extended to them in coordination with government
livelihood agencies and financing institutions and non-
government organizations. No figures on the cost of
assistance and other expenditures were provided.
7. Training Programs
The Technical Education Skills Development

Authority (TESDA) is the national leader in technical
vocational education and training (TVET). TESDA
provides direction to the TVET in the country by setting
standards and developing systems adopted in the sector.
It also exercises technical supervision over the various
public and private TVET providers, builds capacity of
providers and provides scholarships and other student
assistance programs to deserving beneficiaries.
One of the programs undertaken by TESDA is the

Iskolar ng Mahirap na Pamilya (IMP) or the Scholar
of Poor Family. The program provides financial
assistance to one qualified child per indigent family to
equip him with skills for employment. A Certificate of
Educational
Assistance (CEA) is issued to the head of the family
giving him the right to decide whom to send among the
children to post-secondary education. Said Certificate
is accepted in any of TESDA administered institution
for a 2-year vocational technical course. One of the
unique features of the CEA is that it has no expiry
date and works like an educational voucher plan that
can be used at the time it is needed for TVET. For SY
2005-2006, a total of 44 qualified scholars have been
provided with financial assistance out of the TESDA
budget.
The I-Care Program, also known as Invigorating
Constituent Assistance in Reinforcing Employment,
is designed to create jobs. Commencing early part
of 2005, I-CARE works as financial sharing scheme
between TESDA and the external partners to increase
education and training funds for the latter’s chosen
beneficiaries. Partners in this program included
legislators, LGUs, NGOs, industry associations and
other TVET stakeholders. These stakeholders forged
strategic partnerships with TESDA to address the
specific skills requirements of unique job markets and
locations.
Based on regional reports as of December 2005,
the I-CARE Program generated fund commitments/
pledges of PhP 232 million from legislators, LGUs,

NGAs, NGOs and private sector partners. Breakdown
of the amount is as follows: legislators committed 89%
or PhP 207 million out of their Program Development
Assistance Fund while LGUs, partners, and other
organizations committed 11% or PhP 25 million.
Funds will be allocated to:
٠ community based skills and livelihood
training –30 %
٠ scholarship assistance –34%
٠ infrastructure development –30%
٠ competency assessment and certification –1%
Absolute figures on the amount of realized pledges
could not be obtained. An estimated amount of
pledges realized for training, scholarship assistance and
competency certification was 50% of the total. Allocation
for infrastructure development could constitute about
30% and the remaining balance of 20% was unrealized
or deferred to the following year.
B. Social Insurance Programs
1. Social Security
The social security mechanism in the Philippines has

the following characteristics:
٠ Participation is compulsory for all formal
sector workers and public employees;
٠ Benefit schemes are financed from
contributory payroll taxes levied on
both workers and public employees.
Contributions are accumulated in special

funds out of which benefits are paid. Any
excess funds are invested to earn further
income.
٠ In kind (health) benefits are capped.
٠ Cash benefits (and contributions as well)
are directly related to the level of earnings
and/or length of employment;
٠ A person’s rights to benefits is secured by
his or her record of contribution without
any need of test of means, except for
health care, where there is a means tested
sponsored program;
٠ Retirement benefits are designed to
meet”minimum income needs” and are
paid (e.g. monthly) until death.
In the Philippines, three government agencies
deliver social insurance. The Social Security System
(SSS) provides social insurance benefits for those
employed, self-employed and those who had retired
from the private sector, private corporations or
companies. Government Service Insurance System
(GSIS), on the other hand, provides the same
benefits for government employed and previous
qualified members who have retired from public
service. PhilHealth provides health insurance for all.
Furthermore, there is an Employee Compensation
Fund (EC) that provides medical service and
rehabilitation in case of work accidents. Table 9 shows
the distribution of sub-components of the social
security system and institutional responsibilities.
Membership in the GSIS and the SSS requires

subscription or payment of monthly contributions based
on income. All GSIS and SSS-registered employers and
their employees are compulsorily covered under the
Employees’ Compensation program. An employer on
behalf of his employees pays monthly contributions on
Employees’ Compensation for as long as the employee
works for him. The obligation of the employer ceases
when an employee is separated from employment or, if
the employee dies during employment. When a covered
employee becomes disabled during employment, his
employer’s obligation to pay the monthly contribution
arising from the employment will be suspended during
such months that he is not receiving salary or wages.
Table 9: Benefits from

Statutory Social Insurance Coverage
Benefits Program Sources
Short Term SSS Members GSIS Members
Sickness Philhealth Philhealth
Funeral SS, EC SI, OSI, EC
Maternity Philhealth Philhealth
Medical Services EC EC
Rehabilitation EC EC
Long Term SSS Members GSIS Members
Retirement SSS SI
Death SS, EC SI, OSI, EC
Disability SS, EC SI, EC
SS - social security; EC - employees’ compensation;
SI - Social Insurance; OSI - other social insurance
SSS has expanded its coverage to include self-

employed members and workers in the informal
sector. Self-employed includes the regular self-
employed or those who operate businesses, farmers
and fishermen, overseas contract workers and non-
working spouses. The informal sector workers
include unincorporated enterprises, that consist
of both informal own account enterprises and
enterprises of informal employers, labor relations are
contractual and without employers. Groups classified
as informal workers are those with irregular income,
the underemployed, small vendors such as sidewalk
vendors; cigarette, balut/egg and peanut vendors;
watch-your-car boys, hospitality girls, tricycle
operators and drivers, pedicab and jeepney drivers,
and many more. It is estimated that depending on
which definition is chosen about 55% of the workers
are in the informal sector.
The Department of Labor and Employment
together with the Philippine Savings Bank,
Development Bank of the Philippines and accredited
banks implement the program for informal workers.
The program is known as the DOLE Social
Protection Program for the workers in the informal
sector. The informal sector refers to the households
that are unincorporated enterprises consisting
of both informal own account enterprises and
enterprises of informal employers. The informal
sector operates with a low level of organization.
There is no division between labor and capital as
factors of production and labor relations are based
on casual employment, kinship or personal and

social relations rather than formal or contractual
arrangements. To enroll in the program informal
workers should be a member of an association or
organization; should register with SSS; and should
pay a premium monthly through any of the SSS
accredited banks.
As of 2010, there were a total of 50,000 informal
workers enrolled in Social Security System, most
of them in Philhealth, 600 in PAGIBIG and
some in Philippine National Red Cross. Private
partners like the San Miguel Corporation Polo
Brewery and Asahi Corporation have been tapped
as cooperators.
SSS directly administers two programs:
· social security (SS) which includes maternity,
disability, retirement, death and funeral
services. It provides replacement income
in times of death, sickness, disability,
maternity and old age.
· emp lo y ees co mpensa t ion ( E C)
which includes medical services,
rehabilitation services and income
cash benefit beginning on the first day
of disability or sickness, permanent
total disability, medical services and
appliances.
Table 10 summarizes the benefits granted
by these programs while Table 11 gives the total
number of members and annual expenditures for
2003 to 2005.
Table 10: Social Security System Benefits

Cover Benefits
Sickness The sickness benefit is a daily cash
allowance paid for the number of days
a member is unable to work due to
sickness or injury.
Maternity A daily cash allowance.
The maternity benefit is paid only for
the first four deliveries and miscarriages
on or after May 24, 1997.
Maternity benefit applies to complete
delivery on or after March 13, 1973.
The fifth delivery or miscarriage is no
longer paid, even if the benefit had
never been availed of in the previous
deliveries or miscarriages.
Disability The disability benefit provides a monthly
pension and a supplemental allowance of
P500 paid to the total or partial disability
pensioner.
Cover Benefits
Retirement Monthly pension or lump sum to a
member who can no longer work due
to old age.
Death The death benefit is cash paid to the
beneficiaries of a deceased member.
Monthly pension or lump sum to the
beneficiary of the deceased member.
Funeral Grant of Php 20,000 to whoever pays

the burial expenses of a deceased
member or pensioner.
Employee Medical and rehabilitation services, and
Compensation cash income benefits to workers who suffer
work related illness, or injury resulting in
disability or death. Paid simultaneously
with other applicable benefits.
Loans Salary loans, calamity loans, educational
loans and housing loans
Table 11 shows the membership and expenditures of

SSS. What is interesting is that in spite of a substantially
grown expenditure on benefits and an increase of the
labor force the number of members has stagnated.
Table 11: SSS Membership and Expenditures, 2003-2005

Membership 2005 2011
Employees 20,835,897 20,009,890
Self-Employed 5,391,739 5,780,998
Expenditure (million PhP) 2005 2011
On Benefits 46,269.8 82,000*
Operating Expenses 5,638.4 7,300,0*
Source: SSS
* SSS Estimates
2. Government Service Insurance System

(GSIS)
The GSIS is composed of 1.6 million active members

who are employed with the 10,000 government offices
nationwide. There is a total of 250,000 pensioners, those

who had reached the age of 60 and those who had retired
due to disability.
3. Loans and Pension Program
In addition to GSIS regular social insurance

programs, it administers a pension program which
is the newest loan window for the elderly and the
disabled pensioners. Qualified retirees under Republic
Act 660, Presidential Decree 1146 or Republic Act
8291 are granted the opportunity to borrow one to
six times the amount of their monthly pension but
not exceeding PhP 100,000. The loan window is open
to old age and disability pensioners who do not have
any outstanding stock purchase loans, at an interest
rate of 8% per annum. The monthly amortization is
paid in 12 months or 24 months through automatic
deduction from the regular pensions. Loans may be
renewed after full payment. The program was created
in 2001 as a loan facility that will answer the needs of
pensioners who become unwilling victims of usurious
lending. For this type of loan, the GSIS lends an
amount of over PhP 1 Billion, a doubling of pension
loans released in two years owing to the improved
loan processing time.
4. Health insurance
The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or

PhilHealth, a government agency, implements the
National Health Insurance Act of 1995 (Republic

Act 7875) through the National Health Insurance
Program (NHIP). NHIP replaced and improved the
old Medicare Program introduced 23 years earlier. Its
mandate is to provide all citizens with the mechanism to
gain financial access to health services, in combination
with other government health programs.
Under the National Insurance Act all citizens of the
country are required to enroll in the NHIP to become
PhilHealth members to avoid adverse selection and social
inequity. Members are assigned with a permanent and unique
PIN or PhilHealth Identification Number. There are several
categories of members (see also figure 8):
· Employees (private sector and Government),
who are compulsory members, contributions
being paid half by the employer (100-750
PHP per month)
· Individually paying members (IPP),
mainly self employed and informal
sector, who are voluntary members and
have to pay 100% of the contribution
(1200 PHP per year)
· Sponsored members, the Poor, for whom
the contribution 100% is paid by the state.
· Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), (900
PHP per year)
· Retirees over 65, who are enrolled free of
charge if they have at least 120 months
prior enrollment
· Family members, who are insured with the
members free of charge.
Figure 4: PhilHealth Membership Structure
In the context of this paper it is important that people

the moment they get unemployed lose their PhilHealth
entitlement unless they do become IPP and pay the
contribution on their own. There is no cushioning like
special transition regulations for people getting unemployed.
(Usually the employees keep their membership for 3
months as the contributions paid entitle for three months).
To date total coverage is estimated to be around 66% of
the population, where the coverage in the formal sector is
close to 100%11 and in the informal sector around 50% (see
Table 12). Coverage varies very much according to regions
and is highest in Manila and lowest in ARMM (Muslim
Mindanao, see Table 13). Comparing the different population
groups, coverage is the lowest in the group of the informal
sector non-poor (individually paying members).
________________________
11
There are no exact estimates as to in how far compulsory mem-
bership is enforced. There are estimates that there is an evasion
of about 10%. This is why coverage rate is extimated with 90%.
Table 12: Enrollment 2008 and Target (Estimates)

% of % coverage Cov.In % of Target (Cov.
Pop of sector Total Pop of Sector)
Formal Sector 45,0% 90,0% 40,5% 97%
Informal Sector 55,0% 49,1% 27,0% 75%
IPP 30,0% 40,0% 12,0%
Sponsored 25,0% 60.0% 15,0%
Total 100,0% 67,5%
Source: Philhealth, own estimates12
The formal sector includes about 45% of the

population in the Philippines and is covered by PhilHealth
already. The informal sector can be divided into:
·
Those being part of the informal sector, but
not poor (app. 30% of the population and
12% PhilHealth insured). They become
members of PhilHealth on a voluntary
basis through the Individually Paying
Program (IPP). Presently 40% of the IPP
targeted population is covered.
·
Those being part of the informal sector and
poor (app. 25% of the population and 15%
PhilHealth insured). PhilHealth should
automatically cover these people with the
national government and local government
units (LGU) jointly paying their contributions
(Sponsered Program). Presently 60-70% of
the SP target population is covered.
_________________________
12
The membership data is from Phil-Health. Data missing was esti-
mated based on population data and summing up to 100%. The
information on coverage is diverging. Phil-Health speaks of over
80% coverage. The President in his 2010 SONA spoke of 60%.
Benefits include:
· Inpatient coverage. PhilHealth provides
subsidy for room and board, drugs and
medicines, laboratories, operating room and
professional fees for confinements of not
less than 24 hours. Please refer to the table
of rate ceilings/maximum allowances in the
attachment for inpatient coverage.
Table 13: Coverage according to Regions, January 2009

Population 2009 PHIC
%
Estimates Coverage
NCR/Rizal 14,233,782 11,016,510 77,4%
CAR 1,686,419 1,180,410 70,0%
I 5,195,502 3,211,049 61,8%
II 3,445,319 1,534,779 44,5%
III 10,096,469 7,316,337 72,5%
IV-A 7,011,690 5,640,704 80,4%
IV-B 5,173.708 3,410,828 65,9%
V 5,758,872 2,917,742 50,7%
VI 7,646,953 4,672,104 61,1%
VII 7,007,267 4,325,775 61,7%
VIII 4,444,267 2,067,328 46,5%
IX 3,395,066 1,721,204 50,7%
X 4,301,925 4,140,594 96,2%
XI 4,527,594 3,320,508 73,3%
XII 3,766,897 2,893,900 76,8%
Caraga 2,578,332 1,596,715 61,9%
ARMM 3,743,137 1,317,503 35,2%
Total 94,013,199 62,283,990 66,3%
Source: Philhealth
· Outpatient coverage. Day surgeries, dialysis

and cancer treatment procedures such
as chemotheraphy and radiotherapy in
accredited hospitals and free-standing clinics.
· Special benefit packages. Coverage for up to
the fourth normal delivery, Newborn Care
Package, TB treatment through DOTS,
etc.
Benefits are capped with maximum amounts depending
on the severity of the diagnosis, level of hospital and type
of benefit (see attachment).
In May 2009, PhilHealth with GTZ support carried
out a study in region 8, in order to get figures about
drugs bought outside the hospital, parallel Professional
Fees payment, etc. The results showed that the support
value is 27% on average, around 50% in government
hospitals and 20% in private hospitals. Looking at the
different care levels, figure 10 shows that the support
value is highest in tertiary hospitals and lowest in
secondary facilities. If we look at the different benefit
types, figure 11 shows that the support value is lowest in
drugs and professional fees.
Providers normally are not bound to a fee schedule
though PhilHealth has for many years made efforts to
control prices and quality (though contracting). Some
providers though, according to anecdotal evidence, adjust
their prices to the ability to pay of the patients. But in
general a fact is that people who are not able to pay the part
that exceeds PhilHelath reimbursement, get no treatment.
The problem mainly arises through the existing system
of provider relations. Ideally a social health insurance
contracts and directly and completely reimburses

providers. The PhilHealth payments corresponding to
the costs for “room and board”, “professional fees” and
“drugs and investigations purchased in the hospitals” are
directly paid to the hospital’s bank accounts (PhilHealth
share). And the hospitals deduct those amounts from the
patient payment upon discharge. For drugs purchased
outside the hospital, the members send a separate claim
to PhilHealth but the amounts are much smaller than the
ones observed in the third party payment system. Even
though PhilHealth reimburses the provider directly, the
exceeding part is paid cash by the patient. This leads to
the situation that the patient is a financial buffer between
provider and health insurance and in the end has to bear
the risk of pricing. In absence of binding fee schedule, it
would also not be a solution to lift the cap on PhilHealth
benefits as providers may raise their fees at the moment
they get aware that patients get higher reimbursement.
Another problem in the Philippines is the high level
of confinement. Many medical procedures, especially
surgical ones are done in hospitals keeping patients
hospitalized for some days though the procedures could
be done on an outpatient basis. PhilHealth supports this
through its benefit scheme, which mainly reimburses
hospital bills but no outpatient. It could be evaluated if
under certain conditions it would not be appropriate to
reimburse outpatient surgery for example if this avoids
confinement.
One might wonder why in spite of the fact that the
poor are covered free of charge there is no 100% coverage
of the poor population. There are various reasons for this:
Figure 5:
Comparison of Support Values between Hospital Categories
(Based on Pilot Test Conducted in Phro VIII)
Source: Philhealth/GTZ 2010
Figure 6:
Support Values of Different Benefit Items
Source: Philhealth
1. Even if the premium is covered 100%, there

is still a large copayment because the benefits
have a low support value. Poor people cannot
afford the exceeding part and thus see no
benefit in a registration, even if it is free. This
might be also a reason for the low relative
consumption (see figure 12)
Figure 7: Relative Consumption
Source: Philhealth
2. Local Government Units are supposed to

pay a share of the costs of the premium
for the poor (between 10% and 90%).
Many LGUs do not comply with their
obligations.
3. There are problems with the identification
of the poor (which is the task of the
LGUs), the current means test being not
efficient and fraud happening and LGUs

not making enough efforts to register the
poor. The cards are also used politically
by the LGUs within a patronage system.
“You vote for me, I give you the card,
whatever your level of income”.
4. There is low awareness about the
possibility of free membership among
the poor.
If the LGU is poor, e.g. category 6, then it will have
to pay 10% of the 1,200 P contribution = 120 PHP. But
at the same time, the same LGU gets a 300 P subsidy
from PhilHealth as capitation payment for the Sponsored
member to benefit from outpatient care in the Rural
Health Unit (RHU). Result is that the LGU is making
a 180 PHP profit for every sponsored card. But it can
keep that money for other purposes (no legal way to force
LGUs to spend that money in buying drugs for the RHU
for example).
In order to boost coverage among the sponsored
members and the IPP, basically PhilHealth should
increase the support value, raise awareness and secure
funding.
C. Social Assistance and Welfare Programs
The Department of Social Welfare and

Development, the key government agency involved
in providing social assistance to the disadvantaged
and the vulnerable sector, implements programs
that cater to the short term needs of labor and rural
sector when they face shocks and sudden disruption of

income caused by disability, disasters and the like. Key
programs are described below.
1. Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps)
The 4Ps is one of the more comprehensive

programs in Asia. It was started only in 2008. The 4Ps
is a means-tested CCT program following the model
of Latin America, especially in Brazil and Mexico.
The 4Ps provides grants to poor families, particularly
to improve the health, nutrition, and education
of children aged 0–14 years. It aims at short-term
poverty alleviation to break the intergenerational
poverty cycle through investment in human capital.
The specific features of this program are (i) regional
targeting combined with proxy means test, and (ii)
conditionality and grants that are uniform but depend
to some extend on the household size.
The program is targeted at the Philippines’ poorest
households, which are selected through a three-step
means test.
1. Step 1—Regional targeting at the provincial
level: the country’s 20 poorest provinces
are selected based on the family income
and expenditure survey. In addition, the
poorest provinces in each of the six regions
are included. Nine target cities are selected:
5 in the National Capital Region, 2 in the
Visayas, 2 in Mindanao, and 1 city in the
Cordillera.
2. Step 2—Regional targeting at the municipality

level: The poorest municipalities in the above
mentioned provinces are selected based on
small area estimates and on the family income
and expenditure survey.
3. Step 3 — Household-level targeting:
The poorest households in the above-
mentioned areas are selected based on
a computerized ranking system and
proxy means test. The means test uses
criteria such as ownership of assets and
appliances, type of housing unit, level
of education attained by the household
heads, and access to water and sanitation
facilities. Community assemblies are
conducted to finalize the selection
process in the communities.
In 2011, 2.3 million households were identified
through means testing.
The beneficiaries receive 2 types of grants
1. P6,000 ($130) per year or P500 ($11) per
month per household independent of the
number of household members and the
number of children for covering health and
nutrition expenses; and
2. P3,000 ($65) per school year (10 months)
or $6.5 per month per child for covering
education expenses, for a maximum of
three children.
Thus, a household with three children can receive
P1,400 ($31) per month or P15,000 ($372) per year.
Table 14: Development of 4P 2007-2011
Years
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Budget (In PhP) 50.0M 298.5M 5.0B 10.0B 21.2B
Number of Target
6,000 20,000 321,000 1M 2.3M
Beneficiaries/Households
Source:DSWD Presentation to the Senate Committee on Finance
To avail of the benefits, the families have to comply with conditions:

1. Pregnant women must avail of pre- and postnatal care. The birth must be attended
by a professional birth attendant.
2. Parents or guardians must attend qualified parenthood sessions, mother’s classes,
and parent effectiveness seminars.
3. Children 0–5 must receive regular preventive health checkups and vaccinations.
4. Children 3–5 must attend day care or preschool classes at least 85% of the
school days.
5. Children 6–14 must enroll in elementary or high school and attend at least 85% of
the school days.
6. Children 6–4 must take deworming pills every 5 months.

The cash grant is paid quarterly through a major

bank in the Philippines (the Landbank) or authorized
rural banks using a cash card. The intention is for “the
most responsible person in the household” to receive and
manage the cash. Where there are no ATMs and cash
provision through card is not possible, over-the-counter
payment is permissible. The households will receive the
cash grant for a maximum of 5 years.
The program is managed through the Department of
Social Welfare together with an advisory council composed
of representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry
of Health, Department of Local Government, and local
government. Compliance with conditions is monitored by
the municipalities. Noncompliance will lead to suspension of
the cash grant. The program is monitored by a private sector
committee. There are grievance committees at municipal,
regional, and national levels to ensure proper implementation
and transparency.
A budget of P10 billion per year has been allotted
for this program (assuming about 700,000 beneficiary
families).
2. Senior Citizens Medicine and Food

Discounts
With the implementation of the law covering senior

citizens , the Republic Act 7432, senior citizens aged 60
and above, whose income fall below sixty thousand pesos
per annum are entitled to certain benefits as follows:
· Free medical and dental services in
government establishments;
· Exemption from payment of individual

income taxes;
· 20% discount in the purchases of medicine
13
from drugstores ;
· 20% discount from all establishment relative
to utilization of transportation services,
hotels and similar lodging establishment,
restaurants and recreation centers; and
·
20% discount in admission fees charged
by theaters, cinema houses, concert halls,
circuses, carnivals and other similar places
of culture, leisure and amusement.
Owing to the way that these subsidies are delivered,
i.e. at point of service/ purchase, it is not possible to
provide an overall estimate their monetary value.
3. Rehabilitation Centers (AVRC and NVRC)
DSWD runs several centers that provide

rehabilitation programs and services to persons with
disabilities (PWDs) and other special groups. Services are
also rendered for the elderly and dependents of PWDs to
enable them to live a useful and satisfying life. There are
three AVRCs in the country. These are located in Regions
I, VII, IX. The NVRC is in Project 4, Quezon City under
DSWD-NCR. The following centers provided training
to 1229 persons with disabilities in 2005, broken down as
follows:
_________________________
13
Mercury Drug, a leading drug chain store, has served thousands of senior
citizens and extended 20% discounts for medicines under this program.
· NVRC 635 PWDs

· AVRC Region I 220 PWDs
· AVRC RegionII 222 PWDs
· AVRC Region III 81 PWDs
· Center for Handicapped 71 PWDs
· In addition, 741 children and youth with
disabilities were provided with educational
and vocational training.
4. The Social Amelioration Program (SAP)
DOLE assists the sugar workers under the aims to

augment the income of sugar workers and to finance
socio-economic programs to improve the livelihood
and well-being of the sugar workers. Cash bonuses are
distributed to covered workers and maternity and death
benefits and socio-economic projects are financed by
funds derived from related liens and interest earnings of
the SAP.
SAP also includes the Sugar Workers Death Benefit
program, a financial assistance to defray the cost of funeral
and related expenses payable to the beneficiaries of the
deceased covered sugar workers. It is funded out of the
5% of the liens collected per picul of raw sugar program.
The program is implemented in the Visayas, one of the 3
major islands of the Philippines.
5. Disaster/ Emergency Relief
In terms of response to displaced families due to

calamities or other forms of emergencies, the government
has introduced the Emergency Housing Assistance

Program. The program addresses the need of families
rendered homeless due to natural calamities or man—
made disasters. This entails the provision of temporary
shelter and evacuation centers for immediate relief of the
affected families, the provision of home materials assistance
for housing reconstruction, and the development of new
settlements for permanently displaced families.
GSIS administers a loan program for all active
members or those who are still in service. Emergency
loan assistance is granted as a one-time financial assistance
package to all GSIS active members to help them pay
tuition fees of their children and dependents. Educational
Assistance Loans reached about PhP45.5 Million in 2003
and PhP48.7 Million in 2002. Calamity Loans are granted
to active members affected by typhoon, earthquake and
or disaster. In 2003 and 2002, the GSIS provided about
PhP1.9 Billion per year for this type of loan. In 2005, the
disbursements to victims of natural calamities amounted
to PhP39.92 million. The GSIS reported that in 2005,
the total of 31,503 loan releases reached the One Billion
Peso mark, doubling the releases in just two years.
The Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF),
another housing agency, provides financial assistance
(loans) to Pag-IBIG members who are victims in calamity-
stricken areas. Members must have made at least 24
monthly contributions, are actively paying contributions
at the time they apply for a loan, and are committed to
continuously remit contributions for the term of the loan
to be eligible. The majority of the PAG- IBIG members
are employed and do not belong to low income families.
6. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office

(PCSO)
PCSO extends assistance to indigents through

programs like PCSO individual medical assistance
programs, endowment program, charitable institutions,
supplemental feeding program, and greater Medicare
access. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office
(PCSO) is the principal government agency for raising
and providing funds for health programs, medical
assistance and services, and charities of national
character. The PCSO holds and conducts charity
sweepstakes, races, and lotteries and engages in health
and welfare-related investments, projects, and activities
to provide for permanent and continuing sources
of funds for its programs. It also undertakes other
activities to enhance and expand such fund-generating
operations as well as strengthen the agency’s fund-
management capabilities.
The PCSO is also engaged in various social welfare
and development programs. The main programs of the
agency are as follows: endowment fund/quality health
care program, individual medical assistance program,
community outreach program, ambulance donation
program, national calamity and disaster program, and
hospital renovation and improvement of health care
facilities. Also, the agency makes mandatory contributions
to government agencies to assist them in their various
social projects as well as regular quarterly and monthly
contributions to charitable institutions engaged in giving
welfare services to the children and youth who are either
abandoned or exploited, the elderly, and the physically

and mentally handicapped, among others.
In 2005, PCSO gave out PhP15.6 million as aid to
calamity victims, PhP 1.1 billion for medical assistance
and PhP 41,000 as assistance to charitable institutions.
7. The Tindahan Natin
This project (translated as Our Store) provides low-

priced but good quality rice and noodles through a store
jointly identified and endorsed by the DSWD, the local
government units, the barangay council and subsequently
accredited by the National Food Authority. The barangay14
officials keep a masterlist of the names of residents and their
allowed weekly allocation of rice and noodles. The project
started in 2006 and now covers about 49 areas. The DSWD
plans to expand the project and has proposed under the
2007 budget to fund 7,725 Tindahan Natin operators that
are expected to benefit 1.9 million families with improved
food security. As this program commenced mid 2006 it will
not be included in the computations for this study.
8. Other Social Assistance Programs
Protective Services of Persons in Especially Difficult

Circumstances: the project received funding assistance
amounting to PhP 331.5 million from UNICEF. Pilot
sites are in Regions I, VII, IX, XII, NCR. Those benefited
were mostly women who were physically abused, victims
_________________________
14
Barangays or villages are the smallest political units
of sexual abuse, victims of armed conflict, victims of illegal

recruitment, and children who were victims of rape,
incest, acts of lasciviousness and victims of prostitutions.
The exact number could not be determined as several
agencies are involved in this program.
Other social assistance programs are targeted to the
disadvantaged and the vulnerable, e.g. children and youth
who are either abandoned, exploited or abused, the elderly
and the physically and mentally handicapped, persons in
especially difficult circumstances. Of note are the school
feeding and free milk programs for grade 1 students
(mostly about 6 to 7 years old) designed to both reduce
school absenteeism and improve nutrition. This program
is described under the section on Child Protection. There
are also subsidies to treat and rehabilitate drug dependent
youth and others15.
D. Micro Programs
1. The Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan

(KALAHI-CIDSS)
The KALAHI-CIDSS is DSWD’s centerpiece social

development project that empowers the poorest barangays
to plan, implement and manage their own community
projects like roads, water systems, electrification and
other infrastructure projects in the poorest communities.
Funding comes from government contributions
(approximately 30%) and the World Bank (70%).
_________________________
15
The programs targeted at children are described in section F below.
The project targets the poorest 25 percent of

municipalities in the 42 poorest provinces in the
country. The project also employs interventions
geared towards providing security and protection for
the poor, and identified vulnerable groups, including
victims of armed conflict, as well as communities and
individuals that lack access to basic social services. At
completion in 2009, KALAHI-CIDSS is expected to
have provided assistance to 4,270 poor communities
in 177 municipalities.
Kalahi currently operates in 2,367 barangays in
13 regions. In Mindanao, particularly in areas where
the New People’s Army (NPA) and the Moro Islamic
Liberation (MILF) are actively operating, the project
has been implemented in 35 municipalities. Since project
inception in 2003, a total of PhP 1.8 billion has been
provided, of which PhP 1.6 billion has been in the form of
grants and a little over 1 million persons have benefited.
In 2005, expenditure was about PhP 747 million.
As a complementary project, the Japan Social
Development Fund - Social Inclusion Project (JSDF-
SIP) was launched to ensure the inclusion of indigenous
peoples, people in conflict-affected areas and women in
mainstream KALAHI-CIDSS activities at the community
level. A total of 130 barangays in 37 KALAHI-CIDSS
municipalities across 11 regions have been selected as
JSDF-SIP sites through a Social Exclusion Mapping
study. SIP’s strategy is to create innovative approaches
towards maximum and genuine people’s participation,
particularly the vulnerable groups in order to make them
productive members of the community and encourage
sustainable community development, a principle which

forms the essence of KALAHI-CIDSS and the National
Anti-Poverty Program of the government.
2. Self– Employment Assistance – Kaunlaran

(SEA – K) project.
The DSWD started this program in 1993 to provide

the poor with technical assistance and seed capital to start
their own business. The SEA - K aims to enhance the socio-
economic skills of poor families in partnership with the local
government units. The project organizes community-based
associations to develop the entrepreneurial skills of the
members. Members can borrow up to a maximum loan of
PhP 125,000 to finance small businesses, payable in monthly
installments for 1- 2 years at zero interest. From interviews
with DSWD staff the rate of recoverability was estimated at
80%. It also lends for home improvements at 6% interest
rate per year to assist members improve their housing.
There are two levels of financing: In Level 1, the
start up program, about PhP 96 million was released to
benefit about 20,775 families in 2005. Twenty to thirty
members form an association to save and borrow for
their businesses. Level 2, also called SEA Kabayan, is
the merger of 2 - 5 groups that have established a good
track record in terms of managing their finances and
to generate saving. Under this level, funding assistance
valued at PhP 31million was disbursed benefiting about
1,615 families who were provided a higher level of
capability and entrepreneurial skills training and capital
seed fund for micro enterprise.
3. Microfinance
The microfinance industry in the Philippines has been

evolving over the last 3 decades. In the early 1980’s, it was
dominated by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
that were dependent on external grant funding. Later,
government agencies also received funding assistance
from external sources for microfinance projects. In recent
years, small banks have entered into the industry and
their microfinance operations expanded. The entry of
new microfinance banks, cooperatives and established
commercial banks, government financial institutions
as wholesalers of microfinance, into the microfinance
industry has changed the landscape of microfinance.
Target groups for microfinance have also expanded to
include low income men, women, and the children and
the poorest of the poor.16
In the 10 point agenda outlined in the Medium Term
Philippine Development Plan (2004 – 2010) the Arroyo
government aims to generate 10 million jobs during the
plan period through schemes including microfinance.
Patterned after the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh scheme
established in 1976, the government has adopted the
original concept of microfinance where 5-8 persons
comprising a cluster or cell is formed. Centers are
responsible for screening the borrowers and ensuring the
repayment of loans granted to a member or cell. As in
Grameen scheme, repayment of loans is ensured through
_________________________
16
Asian Development Bank, 2005, Annual Report 2004. Theme Paper
No. 14 The Changing Face of the Microfinance industry, Manila: ADB
social collateral, third party guarantees, peer pressure and

moral persuasion amongst members. Microfinance loans
are defined as those that do not amount to more than
PhP150,000.
The respective roles of various players in microfinance
are determined by the policy framework and their relative
comparative advantages in providing financial services to the
poor. The National Anti-Poverty Commission, established
in June 1998, oversees the implementation of microfinance
as the national strategy for delivering financial services to
the poor. Table 15 summarises the respective roles of the
different microfinancing institutions.
Table 15: Institutional Framework for Microfinance

Institutions Responsibilities
Microfinance Engaged in sound,sustainable and
Institutions (MFIs) viable microfinance intermediation.
National Provides a market-oriented
Government through financial and credit policy
the National Credit environment which will promote
Council efficient financial markets,
and help private microfinance
institutions broaden and deepen
their microfinancial services;
National Credit Serves as the microfinance
Council (NCC) policy making body
People’s Credit and The government credit
Finance Corporation corporation serving poor
(PCFC) households and microenterpises,
through provision of wholesale
(loanable funds) and technical
assistance to the MFIs and
support the development of

innovative financial products/
services for poor households/
microenterprises;
Government Provide wholesale funds
financial institutions (including those sourced from
(GFIs) foreign borrowings) to MFIs
which do not have access to
wholesale loans from private
commercial banks
Commercial and Provide wholesale funds and
other private banks financial services to MFIs
NGOs Provide technical assistance in
facilitating the linkage between the
poor households/microenterprises
and microfinance institutions,
community organizations and
capacity building of the target
clientele;
Donors Provide assistance to social
preparation activities, and those
that will lead to the broadening
and deepening of microfinance
services such as: development of
microfinance products, training
in microfinance technologies,
and upgrading of performance
standards.
For this study, the activities of four major programs/

attached agencies of the Land Bank of the Philippines, a
government financing institution and the biggest provider/
conduit of microfinance, have been included. These
microfinance companies serve the poor in the urban and
rural areas, micro-entrerpreneurs, the farmers affected by the
agrarian reform, other small farmers, and fisherfolk.
The People’s Credit and Finance Corporation (PCFC)
The PCFC, a subsidiary corporation of the Land Bank

of the Philippines, was created through Administrative
Order 148 (September 8, 1994) as a wholesale funding
mechanism. It is essentially a microfinance company
tasked to provide affordable credit to the marginalized
sector of the country 17 and was authorized to mobilize
financial resources from both local and international
sources. PCFC disburses loans to the beneficiaries
through conduits or providers like rural banks, NGOs and
cooperative banks. Total releases for 2005 reached PhP
1.27 billion while the total outstanding portfolio as of 31
December 2005 stood at PhP 3.17 billion with an actual
cumulative outreach of 1.65 million active borrowers.
PCFC’s network of MFIs operates in all the 80
provinces in the country. As at end of 2005 the number
of borrowers from microfinance institutions registered a
substantial increase of 28% over the previous year. The
performance was registered by all three providers, rural
banks, NGOs and cooperatives. NGOs/cooperatives
served 12,107 more active borrowers than the rural banks.
The National Livelihood Support Fund (NLSF)
The NLSF was established in 1981 by virtue of Executive

Order 715 to support the implementation of the then Kilusang
Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran (KKK) program. Under the KKK
program, the NLSF’s mandate was to provide livelihood
_________________________
17
By virtue of the Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act (R.A. 8425)
credit to the poor and the marginalized sectors of the society.

Later its mandate was strengthened with the enactment of
Republic Act No. 6657 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Law) Section 37 of which transferred and attached the agency
to the Land Bank of the Philippines and directed the use of
the fund for support services to agrarian reform beneficiaries.
Farmers in agrarian reform communities have been the main
client group. The agency also serves other marginalized
sectors through special tie-up programs.
The Fund aims to promote, generate and develop
sustainable community – based micro enterprises particularly
for farmer households in the agrarian reform zones,
fisherfolks, the unemployed and other marginalized sectors
especially in the rural areas to boost economic growth. The
Fund employs the wholesale lending approach in all its credit
programs, utilizing program partners/conduits to “retail” the
funds to the target beneficiaries.
Microfinance Institutions (MFIs)
The MFI program of the Land Bank of the Philippines

has established a microfinance program in support of the
government’s call to address the credit requirements of
the Barangay Micro Business Enterprises (BMBEs) and
the poor sector by opening a special wholesale financing
window. The program started mid year 2005 and had
served about 20,000 borrowers by the end of the year. The
program provides funds to MFI retailers which in turn
on-lend to microfinance sub-borrowers. MFI retailers
include cooperatives, countryside financial institutions,
and non government organizations.
Loans for small farmers and fisherfolk
This scheme provides credit assistance to small farmers.

In 2005, with Asian Development bank funding assistance,
loan releases reached PhP 16.8 billion. These loans were
lent through 1,075 partner cooperatives and 422 countryside
financial institutions or CFIs (rural banks, cooperative
banks, and development banks) and Quedancor. The loans
benefited more than 322,000 small farmers and fisherfolk. In
2005, LBP and Quedancor also worked together to provide
PhP1.6 billion in credit assistance to self –help groups of
farmers who are not members of cooperatives.
Several foreign-assisted programs are also targeted at
small farmers and fisherfolk18:
·
JBIC-Rural Farmers and Agrarian Support
Credit Program amounting to US $ 86.8
million (PhP4 billion) for crop production and
fixed asset acquisition of the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program beneficiaries in
targeted agrarian reform communities
·
JBIC Asean Japan Development Fund
amounting to US$ 57.7 million (PhP2.7
billion) for small farmers and cooperatives to
increase their income generating capacity.
·
Asian Development Bank Small Farmers
Credit Project: US $ 75 million (PhP3.5
billion) is aimed at improving productivity
and income of small farmers and
strengthening the rural financial system.
_________________________
18
Not all these programs will be included in the calculations as they do
not fall within the study’s definition of social protection.
4. Micro-insurance
Micro-insurance is a subset of insurance that provides

financial protection to the poor for certain risks in a
way that reflects their cash constraints and coverage
requirements. As defined in the Insurance Code, the term
micro-insurance refers to the insurance business activity
of providing specific insurance products that meet
the needs of the disadvantaged for risk protection and
relief against distress or misfortune. A micro-insurance
product is an insurance policy where (i) the amount of
premium computed on a daily basis does not exceed ten
percent (10%) of the current daily minimum wage rate
for non-agricultural workers in Metro Manila and (ii) the
maximum amount of life insurance coverage is not more
than five hundred (500) times the daily minimum wage
rate for non-agricultural workers in Metro Manila19.
Mutual Benefit Associations (MBA) are the primary
insurance vehicle for low income families. Any MBA
wholly engaged in the business of providing micro-
insurance for their members shall be referred as Micro-
insurance MBA20. Any existing and or new MBA shall be
considered wholly engaged in micro-insurance if:
· it only provides micro-insurance policies to
its members and
· it has at least five thousand (5,000) member
clients
_________________________
19
Insurance Memorandum Circular dated September 2006 issued by
Insurance Commission.
20
Ibid.
Of the MBAs licensed by the Insurance Commission,

the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development
(CARD) MBA has the biggest membership at 722,495.
The second and third largest in terms of membership
are Tulay sa Pagunlad Inc and Alalay sa Kaunlaran with
400,000 and 271,105 members respectively. These two
organizations were licensed as MBAs in 2006.
As of 31 December 2005, MBAs had a total membership
of 1,424,930 (Table 16). This is further broken down into
two groups: A. the salaried or fixed income; and B. variable
income. Only the MBAs serving those with variable income
were included in the computation of the SPI. The variable
income comprised of informal workers, farmers, fisherfolks,
small businessmen, and other low income groups. In 2005,
membership contributions of the three NGOs licensed as
MBAs in category B amounted to PhP 11.9 million.
Table 16: MBA Membership as of 31 December 2005

MBAs Membership Members
Contributions
A. Salaried/Fixed income
Armed Forces of the
Philippines, teachers 680,881 NA
associations, government
and private employees
associations etc.
B. Variable income
NGO-led MBAs 744, 049 PhP11.9

million
Total 1,424,930 NA
Source: Insurance Commission
CARD MBA is a successful example of micro-insurance

in the Philippines. In 1994, the NGO offered basic life
insurance packages and subsequently, a pension package
which is a more complex product, to its members. The NGO
eventually extricated itself from this product as it realized that
the continued implementation of the scheme would diminish
CARD’s capital and would make it difficult to comply with the
obligation to its members. From a members’ mutual fund in
1994 CARD converted to a mutual benefit association in 1999.
Learning from the lessons in previous operations, CARD
decided to get professionals who would operate the service
under a new management. CARD received an insurance
license in 2001. Today, CARD MBA provides life insurance
to some 700,000 low income individuals, provident fund and
loan redemption cover to members of CARD Inc and CARD
Bank. Details of the scheme are provided in Table 17.
A recent evaluation study21 concluded that the CARD
scheme responds to the insurance needs of its clients in
terms of: protection for the death of the breadwinner,
protection against the need to repay the loan in case the
borrower, who is often the breadwinner, becomes sick or
disabled, and retirement savings.
5. Agricultural insurance
The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC)

provides insurance protection to the country’s agricultural
producers, particularly the subsistence farmers, against
_________________________
21
Sicat, Alan and Graham, Matt for MIX, 2006, 2004 Philippines Bench-
marking Report, MIX, April 2006.
Table 17: Features of CARD’s Micro-insurance Scheme
Scheme Type Life insurance Provident fund (long Loan Redemption
Characteristic term savings, not
insurance
Group or Has elements of both Individual Group
individual product individual and group
policies. Essentially
an individual policy.
Term Whole life Upon retirement at 65 Same term as linked
years old loan
Eligibility CARD Inc. or CARD CARD Inc. or CARD CARD Inc. or CARD
requirements Bank member Bank member, member Bank member, member

of other authorized MFI of other authorized
which has a valid contract MFI which has a valid
with MBA contract with MBA
Renewal Renewals match loan n/a Automatic renewal
requirements renewals with each loan
Rejection rate Depends on CARD n/a Depends on CARD
Inc or CARD Bank Inc or CARD Bank
Voluntary or Compulsory Compulsory Compulsory
compulsory
Product coverage Single payment at A guaranteed payment of In case of member’s
death or total or a single sum at age 65;the death or total and
permanent disability value is determined permanent disability,
of member based on the value of the balance of that
premiums received plus member’s loan will
accumulated interest be repaid, additional
(currently 8% per benefit equal to the
annum) amount of loan already
repaid is payable to the
indicated beneficiary.
Key exclusions Members recognized None None
after May 31
Pricing – For Card members: For CARD members 1.5% of loan value per
premiums PhP 5 per week –P5.00 per week ( US annum, deducted or
$0.09) paid at loan payment
For other MFI members to member
P20 per month (US $ .036)
crop losses arising from natural calamities, plant diseases

and pest infestations and non crop agricultural losses due
to perils for which the asset has been insured against22.
The different agricultural insurance schemes are for rice
and corn crops. Both types of insurance cover the cost
of production inputs (based on a Farm Plan Budget)
plus an amount of cover at the option of the farmer of
up to a maximum of 20% to cover part of the value of
the expected yield. The amount of premium varies per
region, per season and per risk classification and which
will be shared by the farmer, the lending institution and
the government. Covered risks include natural disasters
including typhoons, floods, drought, earthquakes, and
volcanic eruptions and plant diseases. Those eligible to
participate in this program are:
·
farmers who obtain production loans
from any lending institution participating
in the government supervised rice
production programs, government owned
corporationsand financial institutions,
NGOs, Department of Interior and Local
Government sponsored credit programs.
· Any self financed farmer/organization
and peoples organization (PO) or group
of farmers who agree to place himself /
themselves under the technical supervision
of PCIC accredited agricultural production
supervision.
_________________________
22
Insurance cover for high value crops and non-crop agricultural assets
for commercial farming has not been included in this study.
PCIC also provides insurance cover for livestock

(e.g. cattle, carabao, horse, swine, goat, sheep, poultry,
game fowls). The types of insurance cover are: non
commercial mortality insurance, commercial mortality
insurance, special cover for livestock dispersal, and
special cover for game fowls and animals. Premium
rates are determined as a percentage of sum insured.
Insurance is also available for non crop agricultural
assets. Types of insurance cover under the program
include fire and lightning, agricultural equipment
and machinery and commercial vehicles used for
agricultural purposes. The period of cover shall be for
a maximum of one (1) year. For livestock and non crop
agricultural asset insurance programs, the payment of
premiums is solely shouldered by the farmer.
In 2005, there were 50,139 households who
participated and were covered by the agricultural
insurance schemes administered by the Philippine Crop
Insurance Corporation. Of those covered about 32%
claimed and received benefits.
E. Child Protection
1. The Food for School Program
The Food for School Program (FSP) is an

immediate intervention in the form of food subsidy for
pupils in Grade I, pre-school and day care center, and
who belong to poor families in identified vulnerable
municipalities or priority areas within regions of the
Philippines. The subsidy includes a daily ration of
one kilo of rice for a limited period, provided that

the child attends school or day care center daily.
The volume of rice delivered is based on the list of
beneficiaries or enrollees submitted by the schools or
day care centers.
The objectives of the program are to mitigate
hunger of poor families and improve school attendance
of their children. The program is implemented by the
Department of Education, National Nutrition Council,
Department of Social Welfare and Development,
National Food Authority and the Department of
Interior and Local Government23. An interagency
Technical Working Group is tasked to monitor and
evaluate the program twice yearly at the national
level, quarterly at regional level and monthly at the
provincial and municipal levels.
The FSP covered 6,319 selected schools all over the
country, with a total of 610,793 beneficiaries, 84% were
in Grade I and 16% in pre-elementary. The three regions
which had the biggest number of beneficiaries were
Metro Manila, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
and Bicol.
2. Residential Centers for Children
There are 38 residential institutions for abused,

orphaned, abandoned, neglected and exploited children,
aged 7-17 years old nationwide. Table 18 shows the type
of center and clientele category.
_________________________
23
Department of Education, 2006.
Table 18: Residential Centers for Children and Youths

Client category Centers Number
Children Reception and Study Centers for 10
Children
Children and Lingap Center, Ahon Bata Center, 16
Youth Nayon ng Kabataan, Home for
Girls, Home for Boys
Youth National Training School for Boys, 13
Regional Rehabilitation Centers for
Youth, Marillac Hills, Youth Hostel
3. Child Protection Services
Child protection services provide a series of

programs and services designed to prevent abuse
and exploitation among children, and/ or to provide
treatment and rehabilitation to victims and survivors of
abuse and exploitation. From January to June, 2006, the
Department of Social Welfare and Development handled
about 4,906 cases in the country involving children
with special needs as a result of abandonment, neglect,
abuse, maltreatment, rape, prostitution, paedophilia,
pornography, illegal recruitment, child trafficking and
armed conflict.
Several NGOs are involved in child protection
programs. One of the largest is Bantay Bata which
has the advantage of media support because of the
foundation’s linkage with a television network, ABS-
CBN. To date Bantay Bata has assisted about 1,101
new cases and 2,140 returning cases. Support and
counseling are done personally and mostly through
phone calls. Table 19 shows the different services
provided by Bantay Bata in two major cities. Data on

expenditures for 2005 could not be obtained.
Aside from counseling, Bantay Bata has feeding
programs in Quezon City which benefited 366
malnourished children and resulted in a dramatic
drop in cases of malnourishment. Bantay Bata has
replicated its programs in communities in several
provinces: Guagua, Pampanga, Antipolo, Rizal and
in Navotas. Bantay Bata services also include rescue,
home visitation, sheltering of children, medical and
legal assistance.
Table 19: Bantay Bata Services

in Manila and Davao, December 2005
BANTAY BATA Manila Davao
163 SERVICES January to January to
(Metro Manila) December 2005 December 2005
Calls received and 22,409 2,038
acted upon
Phone counsellings 6,257 331
provided
Children rescued 49 19
Homes visited 1,252 274
Sheltered (Children’s 44 18
village)
Walk-in assistance 918 258
Medical assistance 1,094 66
Legal assistance 103 43
Court cases handled 28 19
DOLE, through the Bureau of Women and

Young Workers, implements programs on preventive
advocacy and effective protection of working children
from abuse and exploitation, and promotion of
children’s rights and welfare. The program includes
activities like action research, organization of parents
and communities, development of capabilities of
all stakeholders, rehabilitative services, and legal
protection including rescue of exploited children
in worst forms of child labor through “The Sagip
Batang Manggagawa” project. Agencies including
the Philippine National Police, National Bureau
of Investigation, local government units and the
Department of Social Welfare and Development
have separately conducted rescue operations. DOLE
alone has conducted 63 operations and rescued 151
children.
Other projects that have benefited an estimate of
25,000 children in 2005 include:
· Street and Urban Working Children
Project which received PhP290 million
from Australian Government and PhP45.7
million from the government.
· Child Health and Development 2025 which
received assistance from the USAID.
· Womens Health and Development Program
funded with foreign grants/loans and
government counterpart funds.
· Belgian Integrated Agrarian Reform Support
Program funded by Belgium to benefit out-
of-school youth or the rural poor.
IV. Gap Analysis
A. Financial Assessment
Most programs associated with social protection in the

Philippines are government led and multi-sectoral in terms
of target beneficiaries. However, as in many other Asian
countries, social protection schemes in the Philippines
have traditionally been largely confined to a formal social
insurance system which provides a high level of protection
but for formal and public sector employees only.
More recently, and especially in the last few years, social
protection activities are seen as an essential component of
poverty reduction programs. In consequence, a number of
programs, especially related to health care, micro-credit, and
assistance to vulnerable groups such as children with special
needs, are being formulated and implemented. As is evident
from the descriptions of social protection programs contained
in this Chapter, initiatives now exist which cover most of the key
social protection target groups. In particular, the creation of a
national system of health provision is now a major government
goal as is the continued expansion of micro-finance programs.
Nevertheless, based on the findings of a UNDP
assisted study on social protection24, the implementation
of social protection in the Philippines in 2003–2005
_________________________
24
Looking into Social Protection Programs in the Philippines: Towards Building
and Implementing an Operational Definition and Convergence Framework,
January 2006, National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) 2006. A study
prepared by Charity Lao Torregosa for the National Anti-Poverty Commit-
tee as part of the project entitled “Strengthening Institutional Mechanisms
for the Convergence of Poverty Alleviation Efforts Phase II” by NAPC
with funding assistance from UNDP.
was beset with problems, namely: (i) under-coverage of

programs, (ii) lack of targeting and poor assessment and
(iii) lack of coordination among programs.
Social protection expenditure in Philippines is
dominated by the expenditure on social insurance (including
health insurance) which accounts for almost 70% of total
expenditure, most of which relates to pensions. The next
most important category are the social assistance and micro
credit programs which account for around 16% each of
total expenditure. Other categories account for a small
proportion of the total expenditure. In respect of children,
this is partly explained by the free provision of primary and
junior secondary education by the government.
Table 20: SP Expenditure by Category and % 2010
SP Category Expenditure %age
Labour Market Programs 150.000.000 0,10%
Pensions 80.000.000.000 51,07%
Health Insurance 22.000.000.000 14,04%
Other Social Insurance (e.g. maternity, 3.500.000.000 2,23%
unemployment, disability etc.)
ALL Social Insurance 105.500.000.000 67,35%
Social Assistance 26.000.000.000 16,60%
Micro-/ Area-based (incl. MCF) 25.000.000.000 15,96%
Child Protection 200.000 0,00%
TOTAL SP EXPENDITURE 156.650.200.000 100%
(000 PhP)
Partly estimates, based on NSO data 201125
** With reclassification of employment related social insurance
programs as labour market programs.
_________________________
25
Estimates were made for child protection and labor market programs
based on relative costs of benefits and number of beneficiaries. Also, all
programs were estimated with the target of 2010, using GDP deflator..
Total expenditure on Social Protection constitutes

2,5% of GDP. This value is significantly lower than that
obtained for most Asian countries.
B. Coverage of Social Protection Programs
The second dimension of social protection is coverage.

The following Table 21 shows the coverage of the most
important programs.
The ADB Social Protection Index Study computed
coverage indicators for 6 target groups considered to
be of priority interest for any social protection system.
Table 21: Beneficiaries of

Social Protection Programs in the Philippines
SP PROGRAMS Beneficiaries
PESO 748,000
Social Security System Retirement 587,000
Social Security System death, funeral 741,000
Social Security System Disability 215,000
Social Security System Sickness , informal 4,000
workers, poor
Government Service Insurance System 249,000
(GSIS)
GSIS Hospitalization Program 4.134,000
Philhealth 60.000,000
Philhealth Sponsored Program for Indigents 2.500,000
Microinsurance 744,000
Peoples Credit 3.300,000
Social Assistance (4P) 2.000,000
Source: NSO, Various Programs
These groups are the unemployed, the elderly, the sick, the
poor, the disabled and children with special needs.
Table 22 provides the basis for deriving the
coverage rates for these target groups. It establishes
the pairings between the target groups and the types of
SP programs as well as the definition of the reference
population that will be used to derive the indicators
from the beneficiary date. It should be noted that a
separate coverage rate is derived for micro-credit
programs given the importance of these as a means of
social protection and employment generation in many
Asian countries.
Coverage rates for these target groups were obtained
by aggregating beneficiaries from all programs targeted
at this group. It should be noted that beneficiaries from
some programs can fall into more than one target group,
e.g. beneficiaries of the program to aid the elderly and the
disabled.
Table 22: Social Protection Target Groups, Types of

Social Protection Programs and Reference Populations
Target Group Types of SP Reference
program* Population**
The unemployed All Labor market The unemployed
and the programs (relevant and the
underemployed training and job underemployed
creation through SME
support); food for work
programs; targeted
public works programs
The elderly - Pensions Population Aged
- Social assistance to 60+ years
the elderly
The sick - Formal health Total population

insurance
- Micro-insurance
- Subsidized health
costs or exemptions
- Senior citizen
treatment allowance
The poor - All recipients of Poor population
(especially basic social welfare/
the severely assistance payments
poor and - Land tax
disadvantaged) exemptions
- Residential care for
vulnerable groups
- Food aid BUT
excluding education
and health programs
as well as those for
the disabled.
Micro-finance/ credit Poor population
including those aimed
at job creation
The disabled All forms of assistance The disabled
programs for the population
disabled (including
recipients of social
assistance, training
programs)
Children with - Educational Poor children,
special needs programs (e.g. aged 5-14 years
(CWSN) fee exemptions,
scholarships, school
feeding programs,
etc.)
- All other identified
child protection
programs
* These are generic programs and will vary from country to country.
** Essentially equivalent to the target population.
Source: Baulch, Weber, Wood: Social Protection Index for

Committed Poverty Reduction. Manila 2008
Table 23 shows the coverage rates derived for each

target group. In general, coverage rates are low in
the Philippines indicating the absence of major social
protection programs for most of the identified target
groups. There is however one important exception:
health care assistance where up to 70% of the population
is covered by either the main NHIP program or the
sponsored program for indigents. Coverage rates are also
significant for MCF programs and the disabled, although
the latter might reflect an underestimation of the number
of disabled in the country.
Table 23: Target Group Coverage Rates (2010)

Target group Coverage Rate
Unemployed 7%
The elderly 16%
The sick 70%
The Poor - social assistance 13%
The poor- MCF 32%
The disabled 24%
Children with Special Needs 5%
Source: NSO data, own calculation26
Table 24 shows the largest individual SP programs

in terms of beneficiaries. By far the largest is the main
Health insurance scheme which covers well over half the
Filipino population. This is followed by the micro-credit
programs, pension program, and the 4P program.
_________________________
26
The coverage rate was calculated using SPI data from 2006, which were
updated with recent PhilHealth and SSS data.
Table 24: Largest SP Programs in terms of Beneficiaries

Rank Programs Beneficiaries
(millions)
1 PhilHealth 62
2 Microcredit Programs 6
3 Pensions 2,1
6 4P 2
Source: Membership data of the respective programs
From the tables above, it can be seen that the largest

gaps exists in the field of old age security, unemployment
and poverty, despite of some large existing programs.
The main deficiency of the pension scheme is that it is
concentrated on a relatively small number of workers in
the formal sector. There are basically no programs for
the large informal sector. The main problem of the social
assistance program is that it covers just 15% of the poor
are only a small aspect of poverty.
C. Health Insurance Support Value
The average support value of PhilHealth benefits

(meaning the average % of the amounts of medical
bills reimbursed) lies around 30% It is higher in some
provinces; it is lower in secondary level facilities and in
Metro Manila. The reason for this is that the PhilHealth
benefits are capped and there are no efficient cost
controls in place. This means that maximum amounts are
paid depending on the level of the facility (primary up
to tertiary) and the diagnosis. These maximum amounts
rarely cover the actual medical bill.
In May 2009, PhilHealth with GTZ support carried out

a study in region 8, in order to get figures about drugs bought
outside the hospital, parallel Professional Fees payment, etc.
The results showed that the support value is 27% on average,
around 50% in government hospitals and 20% in private
hospitals. Looking at the different care levels, the support
value is highest in tertiary hospitals and lowest in secondary
facilities. If we look at the different benefit types, the support
value is lowest in drugs and professional fees.
Providers normally are not bound to a fee schedule.
Prices as well as prescriptions are absolutely unregulated.
Some providers though, according to anecdotal evidence
adjust their prices to the ability to pay of the patients. But
in general a fact is that people, who are not able to pay
the part that exceeds PhilHealth reimbursement, get no
treatment.
The problem mainly arises through the existing
system of provider relations. Ideally a social health
insurance contracts directly and completely reimburses
providers. The PhilHealth payments corresponding to
the costs for “room and board”, “professional fees” and
“drugs and investigations purchased in the hospitals” are
directly paid to the hospitals bank accounts (PhilHealth
share). And the hospitals deduct those amounts from the
patient payment upon discharge. For drugs purchased
outside the hospital, the members send a separate claim
to PhilHealth but the amounts are much smaller than the
ones observed in the third party payment system.
Even though PhilHealth reimburses the provider directly,
the exceeding part is paid in cash by the patient. This leads
to the situation that the patient is a financial buffer between
provider and health insurance and in the end has to bear the
risk of pricing. In the absence of a binding fee schedule, it
would also not be a solution to lift the cap on PhilHealth
benefits as providers may raise their fees at the moment they
get aware that patients get higher reimbursement.
A special problem is that of the “Insurance Rent” that
can be observed in provider behavior. Providers often
adjust their prices upwards if they know that patients are
insured. The patients have to pay a higher fee in these
cases, which leads to the effect that providers basically
skim the benefits that patients have from insurance.
So far, PhilHealth has not achieved its objective to
limit the prices in the market and to introduce effective
provider payment mechanisms. The reason might be the
strong position of the providers, which also is supported
by the fact that they are part of the PhilHealth board.
Basically PhilHealth is a third party payer but no
purchaser.
The result thus can be summed up as follows:
· The support value for the target group
(low income earners) lies around 30-50%
depending of the facilities frequented and
the location of residence. Most outpatient
care is not covered at all (except for
sponsored members and OFW).
· This means that people are faced with an
enormous financial risk.
· A solution could either be to limit the costs
and expand the Philhealth support value (long
term solution) or to introduce an affordable
complementary insurance program.
D. Lending Based on Pension Entitlements
Formal sector employees can avail of a loan from SSS

(maximum 24,000 Pesos), which has as collateral the pension
savings of the beneficiary. This facility is quite in demand
though it can be questioned, whether taking loans against
old age security is appropriate from a social protection point
of view as it defeats the purpose of securing pension benefits.
E. Gaps of Social Assistance (4P)
Typical Gaps of CCT programs are:

·The quality and availability of the
conditioned services;
·
A focus on one aspect of poverty, whereas
others are neglected;
·
A lack of employment opportunities.
In this context Social Watch Philippines published the

following analysis of the 4p program27: “The 4Ps program
is patently a poverty reduction program designed to
address issues on maternal mortality and child mortality
(the latter mostly through the provision of vaccines and
cash), as well as keep children in school for five years.
Other vulnerable groups like poor senior citizens, the
chronically sick, people with disabilities, the millions of
out-of-school, and functionally illiterate or the unemployed
poor are not covered by the program. As such, other anti-
poverty programs designed to address the other dimensions
_________________________
27
http://www.socialwatchphilippines.org/news_38_4Ps.htm
of poverty must likewise be prioritized. For example,

tuberculosis remains one of the leading causes of morbidity
and mortality among the Filipino poor and yet, the budget
for the Indigents’ Program under the Philippine Health
Insurance Program was reduced by thirty-three percent for
2011. Furthermore, we note that twenty percent of school
age children and youth are out of school, and yet they get
less than one percent of the education budget. While the
4Ps is designed to attract the out-of-school to re-enroll,
studies conducted locally and around the world have shown
that a significant majority of the out-of-school will never
return to school even with attractive packages. To continue,
the housing budget was slashed by half for 2011(from
PhP 11 Billion in 2010 to PhP 5.6 Billion), a move that
will certainly negatively impact on the rising number of
informal settlers in dire need of mass housing. Finally, the
majority of the poor are in the rural areas and yet we note
that public investment in agriculture, fisheries and forestry
remains low. Much of the rationale used by government to
justify low and or decreasing levels of public spending in
these areas is to be able to free up and provide additional
sources for the 4Ps, a policy position which we disagree
with. We believe the government should not reduce public
spending for other pro-poor programs and re-channel the
freed up resources for the 4Ps, which only address a few
dimensions of poverty and vulnerability and therefore only
targets a sub-set of the total number of poor.”
“No amount of conditionalities will work if there is a
lack of schools, health clinics, and means of transport in
4P areas. The fact that Philippine public investment in
education and health is low and has generally declined
between 2000 and 2006 at both the national and local

government levels does not augur well for the 4Ps meeting
its stated objectives. This means that public investment in
education and health must significantly increase. Stress is
made on ensuring the quality of services.”
“The Social Watch study reveals that most of the
beneficiaries it surveyed expressed gratitude that with
the cash grants, the health and education status of their
families were improving. Nevertheless, an overwhelming
majority of beneficiaries said that what would lift them
out of poverty was access to regular employment.”
An analysis published by the State Economic Planning
Office28 reveals other gaps of the 4P system. The result of the
spot check is disappointing, particularly the compliance rates
for health. “One of the most pressing problems of the country
is the very high maternal mortality rate (MMR) and looking
at the compliance rates of pregnant women surveyed, it seems
that the 4Ps CCT is ineffective or inadequate in addressing the
maternal deaths among the poor. Given that deworming and
immunization are free, the low compliance rate is puzzling.29
Moreover, it has to be mentioned that CCT programs
are effective only if the conditional services are available
and the costs of availing of the are low. Concerning the
school services criticism was that large shortages in supply
hampered school attendance (see Table 25).
“Lastly, CCT programs are just one option within the
arsenal of social protection programs that can be used to
redistribute income to poor households. They cannot be
_________________________
28
SEPO: Policy Brief, March 2011
29
See SEPO: Policy Brief , March 2011, P. 10
Table 25 Shortages for critical school inputs,
SY 2011-2012
SY 2011-2012 Estimated
Item Level SY 2009-2010 Inventory
Gross Shortages
1. Classrooms Total: 421,496 152,569
Elementary 328,406 108,977
Secondary 93,090 43,592
2. School seats Total: 15,280,942 13,225,572
Elementary 11,271,350 10,279,007
Secondary 4,009,592 2,946,565
3. Teachers Total: 487,969 103,599

Elementary 356,397 37,460
Secondary 131,572 66,139
4. Textbooks Total: 85,975,925 95,557,887
5. Sanitation facilities Total: 313,085 151,084
Elementary 259,855 90,018
Secondary 53,230 61,066
Source: Department of Education – Priority Issues and Directions, 2010
the right instrument for all poor households. For example,

they cannot serve the elderly poor, childless households,
or households whose children are outside the age range
covered by the CCT. Redistribution to those groups is
better handled through other means.”30
The gaps mentioned can be remedied for example through:
· Employment programs for the poor like the
100-days-work program in India;
· Investment in education and health
infrastructure focused on the poor.
V. Costing Exercise
A. Health
The first option when we discuss about costs of

additional health care cover is the introduction of fee
schedules, which currently are absent.
If we look at additional cover, there are three sources
of data, which could be used to estimate the cost:
·National Demographic and Health Survey
(NDHS) data,
·Philhealth data,
·Data from private insurers and HMOs.
NDHS shows the frequency of confinement, the main

risk that the insurance will cover. It can be seen that the
confinement frequency lies around 4,1% or 4,1 m cases
per year (given a population of about 100 m).
_________________________
30
See SEPO: Policy Brief , March 2011, P. 12
Table 26: Costs per Case, Philippines 2008
Source: Phjilippines Natinal Demographic and Health Survey 2008
The Table 26 shows the costs per case. According to this, the average costs lie around 16,800
PhP (where private facilities are more than double of public facilities). From this we can calculate
the total costs per capita per year, which is 689 PhP
for a mix of public and private facilities. However, this
result may be distorted by the costs of private patients.
Not only from NDHS but also from the data of private
insurers (for example GREPA Life and MAXICARE)
we know that their average costs per case of inpatient
care are nearly double the average (28,130 in the case of
MAXICARE). For reasons of prudence, we nevertheless
calculate with the average number mentioned above, for
two reasons:
·
insured people might prefer to use private
providers for quality reasons (though we
have to limit these options in order to keep
the premium affordable).
·
The majority of Philhealth claims is from
private facilities (16.1 bn PhP compared to
6.6 bn PhP from public).
The following Table 27 shows the costs per member

of PhilHealth, which lie at 1,269 PhP per year (2009).
Including administration costs, in total these are around
1,400 PhP per year or 117 PhP per month. The costs per
capita of all members can be estimated as 362,57 PhP per
year31. The costs per member are the more reliable figure
as the number of beneficiaries is debated and depending
on the source lies between 50 and 80m.
_________________________
31
It can be seen that the costs in private facilities represent the majority of
the costs and that they are more than double the level of public facilities.
If private and public together is less than the total, the reason is that a
part of the cases is unclassified.
Table 27: Philhealth Expenses 2009
Source: own calculations (per capita figures) based on Philhealth data

Table 28: Sensitivity Test
Total costs Beneficiaries Coverage Per capita Costs
22.753.137.771,48 72,00 80% 316,02
22.753.137.771,48 67,50 75% 337,08
22.753.137.771,48 62,76 70% 362,54
22.753.137.771,48 58,50 65% 388,94
22.753.137.771,48 54,00 60% 421,35
22.753.137.771,48 49,50 55% 459,66
22.753.137.771,48 45,00 50% 505,63
Source: Own Calculation based on PhilHealth Data32
These numbers are influenced by the denominator (number of beneficiaries and members), which
are debated. The estimates range from 50% coverage to nearly 70% coverage. The effect of the
number of beneficiaries on the per-capita costs is shown in the following sensitivity test (Table 28).
If we calculate with 362,57 PhP covered by Philhealth mentioned in table 4 and deduct these from the
costs calculated from NDHS (689PhP) total costs for IPC shown above, we come to a total of exceeding
costs of around 326 PhP, which would mean that Philhealth covers about 50% of the actual costs.
_________________________
32
The calculation was made using a uniform cost figure and calculating the impact of several coverage levels.
If the Philhealth part represents a support value of around

50%, a 100% coverage of the costs would cost around 750
per year per capita (350 for PhilHealth and 350 for the
complementary, 50 PhP for administration). If we suppose
that the per capita costs of Philhealth are higher (according
to the sensitivity test shown above) this either can mean that
the support value is higher, if we follow the data deducted
from the National Demographic and Health Survey, or, if
the support value is constant, that the exceeding costs are
higher, in this case up to 500PhP per capita.
To sum up: the most probable costing scenario for our
purposes lies between the numbers shown from Philhealth
and NDHS data. According to these, total costs for the health
insurance lie around 750 PhP per capita per year or 45 bn PhP.
Table 29: Household Income Distribution

2000 2003
Number of Families (th) 15,270 16,480
By income class (%) 100,00 100,00
Under P10,000 0,23 0,18
10,000 - 19,999 2,15 1,66
20,000 - 29,999 5,48 4,16
30,000 - 39,999 7,67 6,87
40,000 - 49,999 9,09 7,80
50,000 - 59,999 7,83 7,63
60,000 - 79,999 12,99 13,38
80,000 - 99,999 9,80 10,51
100,000 - 149,999 15,92 17,23
150,000 - 249,999 15,60 16,41
250,000 - 499,999 10,01 10,86
500,000 - 19,999 and over 3,22 3,31
However, in this context we have to remind again of the necessity to introduce fee schedules and cost control.
Otherwise additional funding will lead to higher income of providers and not to better support values.
B. Unemployment Insurance
The following tables show the result of quantitative simulations (sensitivity tests) that have
been made with different parameters in the framework of the ILO Unemployment Insurance Study.
The basis for the simulations is shown in Table 30. UI in a first stage could only cover the formal sector,
Table 30: Parameters of Simulation

Members covered: Total 7,965,000,00
SSS 6,600,000,00
GSIS 1,365,000,00
AMSC 9,000,00
Benefit levels: From 50% to 60%
Benefit Duration: From 5 months to 8 months
Unemployment Rate From 6,50% to 9%
Share of Recipients 50% to 100%
Administration costs 15% of total costs
Evasion 10% to 35%
the total number equals the number of members of SSS

and GSIS. The Average Monthly Salary Credit is the basis
for the assessment of the contributions and the benefits as
well. It was around 9,000 pesos in 2008. The minimum
wage currently lies between 210 and 382 pesos per day,
which adds up to a monthly wage of between 4,200 and
7,600 pesos. But given the fact that few employers stick to
the minimum wage, the wages paid in many sectors of the
economy, especially for low skilled labor, are below the
minimum wage. The average monthly wage according to
BLES in 2008 was 12,525 pesos.
The administration costs were calculated at 15%
given the fact that this type of scheme is quite work
intensive and also because the administrative costs would
incorporate costs for training. The evasion rate of 10%
to 35% reflects the fact that not all contributions would
be collected. It can be seen from Table 31 that evasion
(defined as employers failing to deduct contributions for
registered workers) may have a significant effect on the
contributions taking into account that beneficiaries will
Table 31: Contribution rates under different

levels of evasion and duration of benefits
Contribution Rates
Average Duration of Benefit (Months)
5,00 6,00 7,00 8,00
10% 1,80% 2,16% 2,52% 2,88%
% Evasion
15% 1,90% 2,28% 2,66% 3,04%

20% 2,02% 2,43% 2,83% 3,23%
25% 2,16% 2,59% 3,02% 3,45%
300% 2,31% 2,77% 3,23% 3,70%
35% 2,49% 2,99% 3,48% 3,98%
Table 32: Contribution rates

under different take-up rates and benefit duration;
assumed monthly benefit level 50% of AMSC
Contribution Rates
5,00 6,00 7,00 8,00
Take-Up Rate
50% 1,00% 1,20% 1,40% 1,60%

60% 1,20% 1,44% 1,68% 1,92%
70% 1,40% 1,68% 1,96% 2,24%
80% 1,60% 1,92% 2,24% 2,56%
90% 2,80% 2,16% 2,52% 2,88%
100% 2,00% 2,40% 2,80% 3,19%
get a benefit even if employers do not comply with their

obligation to pay contributions. If this is shouldered
by employers, there will be no effect of evasion on the
contribution level and unpaid contributions lead to no
extra costs of benefits.
Table 32 shows the contribution rates based on an
unemployment rate of 7.5% and a benefit level of 50%
of AMSC, for different average duration of benefit
and take-up rates. This means that if on the average
all beneficiaries received unemployment benefits for
example for 5 months and if 70% of the unemployed
received benefits (take-up rate of 70%), the
contribution rate lies at 1.40%. The other parameters
of this model calculation are: administration costs
15%, evasion 10%.
Table 33 shows the simulation with the same
parameters but with a benefit level of 60% of the AMSC.
It can be seen that the contribution rates are relatively
higher.
Table 33: Contribution rates
under different take-up rates and benefit duration;
assumed monthly benefit level 60% of AMSC
Contribution Rates
5,00 6,00 7,00 8,00
Take-Up Rate
50% 1,20% 1,44% 1,68% 1,92%

60% 1,44% 1,73% 2,01% 2,30%
70% 1,68% 2,01% 2,35% 2,68%
80% 1,92% 2,30% 2,68% 3,07%
90% 2,16% 2,59% 3,02% 3,45%
100% 2,40% 2,88% 3,88% 3,83%
Table 34: Contribution Rates

Different Levels of Unemployment (Benefit Level 50%)
Contribution Rates
Unemployment Rate
5,00 6,00 7,00 8,00

6,5% 1,76% 2,11% 2,46% 2,82%
7,0% 1,90% 2,28% 2,65% 3,03%
7,5% 2,03% 2,44% 2,84% 3,25%
8,0% 2,17% 2,60% 3,03% 3,47%
8,5% 2,30% 2,76% 3,22% 3,68%
9,0% 2,44% 2,93% 3,41% 3,90%
Table 34 shows the simulation for different rates of

unemployment. The parameters are: 90% of unemployed
receive benefits (take-up rate of 90%), benefit level is 50%.
The other parameters are as in the simulations above.
In general it can be said that the contribution rate for the
proposed scheme with a reasonable level of benefits and an
unemployment rate between 7% and 8% will lie around 2%.
The level varies with the average duration of unemployment,
the level of unemployment and of course the benefit parameters.
The impact of the unemployment insurance on labor

costs would be modest (1 percentage point higher social
security contributions for employers). The contribution
for SSS currently is 7.07% for the employer and 3.33%
for the employee. The contribution for PhilHealth is
2.5% for the employer and 1.25% for the employee. In
addition to this, employers have to pay a 13th salary by
the end of the year and both, employers and employees
contribute 100 pesos monthly to the loan program of
Pag Ibig. Thus, total social security costs are at around
10% for the employer plus about 8% for the 13th salary,
which adds up to 18%. Compared to this the additional
premium of 1% is very modest.
The total costs of the unemployment insurance, depending
on the level of unemployment, replacement rate and take-up
rate would lie between 21 and 30 bn PhP per year.
C. Pension
It is hard to estimate the costs of additional pension

coverage for the following reasons:
·The replacement rate as well as the take-up
rate can only be guessed very roughly;
· The question is also whether we estimate
the contribution side or the benefit side. In
a funded scheme these can be very different.
If we suppose that the current 16% of the elderly

would be increased to 60%, this would mean an increase of
the benefit payment from 80 bn to 300 bn. The following
table shows the options:
Table 35: Estimate of Costs Pensions

Coverage People Costs
(million) (Billion PhP)
16% 1,80 80.00
30% 3,38 150,00
45% 5,06 225,00
60% 6,75 300,00
80% 9,00 400,00
100% 11,25 500,00
Own Calculation using SSS data33
D. Social Assistance
Currently, about 2 million beneficiaries are covered,

which represents about 10% of the poor. If we want to
cover all the poor, a total of up to 20 million recipients
Table 36: Estimate of Costs Social Assistance

Coverage People Costs
(million) (Billion PhP)
10% 2,00 22.00
30% 6,00 66,00
45% 9,00 99,00
60% 12,00 132,00
80% 16,00 176,00
100% 20,00 220,00
Own Calculation using 4P data34
_________________________
33
The calculation uses most recent SSS data and supposes same average
pension with varying coverage levels.
34
The calculation uses most recent 4P data and supposes same average
benefit level with varying coverage levels.
needed to be covered. This is a maximum scenario. More

probable is that not all will pass the means test, fulfil the
conditions or will want to apply. If we calculate with a take-
up rate of 50%, we will have up to 10 million recipients or
a budget of around 110bn PhP.
This budget will have to be paid entirely from the
public budget.
E. Summary
In order to estimate possible costs of extending social

security, a series of questions have to be answered:
1. What is the level of coverage that we expect to
reach?
2. What is the level of envisaged benefits
(replacement rate, level of health benefits, level
of subsistence benefits)?
Table 37: Current and Expected Coverage Rates

Target group Current Expected
Unemployed 7% 80%
The elderly 16% 60%
The sick 70% 90%
The Poor - social assistance 13% 50%
The poor - MCF 32% 50%
The disabled 24% 80%
Children with Special Needs 5% 30%
Source: NSO, own estimates35
_________________________
35
The own estimates refer to the expected coverage levels. These were
seen as minimum desired coverage.
Table 38: Estimated Costs

Current Expected
Pension 80,00 300,00
Health Insurance 22,00 45,00
Social Assistance 26,00 110,00
Labor Market 0,15 25,00
Micro Credit 25,00 25,00
Child Protection 0,20 1,00
Total 153,35 506,00
36
Source: NSO and own estimates
3. Who will bear the costs (beneficiaries, employers,

state budget)?
If we expect the coverage shown in Table 37 we

estimate the costs shown in Table 38.
It can be seen that if the current expenditure
corresponds to 2,6% of GDP, the proposed coverage
will amount to about 9% of GDP, which still will be
less that many other countries spend. The costs of the
social assistance and the expansion of the coverage
of the health insurance will mostly be borne by the
state. The expansion of unemployment insurance and
pension will be mostly paid by beneficiaries and partly
by employers.
The data above are rough estimates. The costs of
the unemployment scheme are based on an ILO study
conducted in 2010.
_________________________
36
The costs were calculated based on current average per-capita costs
multiplied with higher numbers of beneficiaries.
VI. Conclusion and Recommendations
The Philippines has a quite elaborate social insurance

framework, which, however, shows low coverage and
benefit patterns. Gaps mostly are in the fields of
· Health insurance coverage of the informal
sector and support value;
· Pension coverage as well as the fact that
many people take loans on their pension
entitlements;
·Absence of unemployment insurance
· Still low coverage and range of social
assistance.
To remedy these gaps will lead to an increase of share

of GDP spent for social protection to 9%, which is still at
the lower end of comparable countries.
The findings of this study correspond with those of the
ADB Social Protection Index, which ranged the Philippines
below average of all Asian countries. Based on our analysis
above, we would like to highlight some recommendations
for future social protection in the Philippines:
1. Recommendation: We think that economically
the Philippines are able to expand the social
protection system, especially as much of the
suggested measures would be funded by the
beneficiaries themselves and constitutes pure
risk sharing and no redistribution. This, we
think that at least a doubling of the social
budget and the share of GDP spent for social
protection would be recommendable.
2. Recommendation: We think that in line with an

expansion of social protection spending and risk
sharing, an expansion of the number of people
covered is needed. This counts especially for old
age security, minimum income security (social
assistance) and health insurance.
3. Recommendation: In the field of health insurance
we think that the introduction of fee schedules
and an increase of the support value is needed.
4. Recommendation: We think that the policy of
taking loans against the pension fund should
be revised. We think that it is not acceptable
that workers spend their pension funds before
retirement.
5. Recommendation: Concerning Social Assistance,
we think that a close monitoring and improvement
of the conditioned services should be envisaged
as well as a boost of compliance. Further target
groups like poor elderly and poor childless
households need attention.
6. Recommendation: We think that apart from
coverage, the breadth of risk coverage should
be increased by introducing at least an
unemployment insurance. The basics for this
have been laid, among others by DOLE and
ILO. Next step would be to discuss a respective
law in Parliament.
The present study tries to elaborate some options
the Philippine Government has in order to improve
social protection of their citizens. There is a vertical
and a horizontal aspect of improving coverage. Vertical
means adding further branches of social protection like

unemployment insurance or to broaden support value of
health insurance. Horizontal means including larger parts
of the population into social protection. However, some
measures would be more feasible and useful than others.
For example introducing unemployment insurance for
informal workers makes less sense than providing health
insurance, accident insurance or old age security for them.
In any case, we recommend expanding social protection
and working continuously on a strategy to provide better
protection for Filipino workers and their families.
VII. References
Asian Development Bank (2007): Philippines: Critical

Development Constraints. Economics and Research
Department, Asian Development Bank,Mandaluyong City
(December).
Asian Development Bank (2008): Asia Economic Monitor,
December 2008.
Baulch, B., J. Wood, and A. Weber. 2008. Social Protection
Index for Committed Poverty Reduction: Asia, Vol 2. ADB
2008
Baulch, Weber, Wood: Social Protection Index for
Committed Poverty Reduction. Volune 2: Asia. Manila
2008.
de Janvry, A., and E. Sadoulet. 2006. Making Conditional
Cash Transfer Programs More Efficient: Designing for
Maximum Effect of the Conditionality. The World Bank
Economic Review. 20(1)
http://www.nscb.gov.ph/statseries/default.asp
http://www.philhealth.gov.ph/
http://www.sss.gov.ph/
http://www.worldbank.org.ph/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/
COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/PHILIPPINE
SEXTN/0,,menuPK:332992~pagePK:141132~piPK:14
1107~theSitePK:332982,00.html.The Proceedings of the
Regional Workshop
ILO (2008): Vietnam: Social Health Insurance. Current
Issues and Policy Recommendations.
ILO (2009): Annual Global Employment Trends report, ILO
press release, January 28, 2009
IMF (2009): World Economic Outlook Database, April 2009
Joint Foreign Chambers in the Philippines: June 2009 Global
Crisis. Preparing to Rebuild Foreign Investment. Manila,
June 2009
Khandker, S. (2002): Impact of the East Asian Financial
Crisis Revisited. Manila:The World Bank Institute and
Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
Manasan, R. G. and J. S. Cuenca (2007): “Who Benefits
from the Food-for-School Program and Tindahan Natin
Program: Lessons in Targeting.” PIDS Discussion Paper
2007-10 (July). Available athttp://dirp4.pids.gov.ph/ris/
dps/pidsdps0710.pdf.
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. Raising the Bar.
Annual Report 2008
Sicat, Allan and Graham, Matt for MIX, 2006, 2004
Philippines Benchmarking Report, MIX, April 2006.
State Economic Planning Office: Policy Brief, March 2010.
Towse, Mills, Tangcharoensathien: Learning from Thailand’s
health reforms. BMJ Volume 328 10 January 2004
Weber, Axel: Social Assistance in Asia and the Pacific, an

Overview. In: Handayani, Sri WeningSocial Assistance
and Conditional Cash Transfers. Manila 2010
Weber, Axel: Social Protection in Case of Unemployment in
the Philippines – ILO Feasibility Study. Manila 2010
Weber, Axel; Helga Piechulek: The impact of the global
recession on the poor and vulnerable in the Philippines and
on the social health insurance system. Discussion Paper
2009.
WHO: Social Health Insurance. Selected Case Studies from
Asia and the Pacific. Manila 2005. Page 300
World Bank (2008): “East Asia: Navigating the Perfect
Storm”. East Asia Pacific Update, December.
World Bank. 2009. Conditional Cash Transfers: Reducing
Present and Future Poverty. World Bank Policy Research
Report. Washington DC.
www.adb.org/Documents/Books/ Poverty-in-the-Philippines/
executive-summary.pdf
Yap, J. T. (2008a): “What’s in Store for the Philippine
Economy in 2008?” PIDS Development Research News
Vol. XXVI No. 1 (January-February). Available at http://
dirp4.pids.gov.ph/ris/drn/pidsdrn08-1.pdf.
Yap, J. T. (2008b): “Regional Cooperation in East Asia Amid
Global Economic Turmoil” PIDS Policy Notes 2008-04.
Available at http://dirp4.pids.gov.ph/ris/pn/pidspn0804.pdf.
٠375
ANNEXES
٠377
Annex I.
Compilation of news clippings
of NFC activities
Annex I - News Clippings ٠379
Philippines needs national food policy to lower

hunger incidence - food groups network
By: InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
October 9, 2012 11:58 AM
MANILA - The lack of a comprehensive national food

policy is one of the major reasons why the country has
high incidence of hunger, said the FoodFirst Information
and Action Network (FIAN) Philippines.
“The result of the latest survey on hunger incidence
is unacceptable and alarming. We urge the President to
declare as urgent the crafting of a national food policy
that will rectify incoherent, non-complementary and
conflicting legal mechanisms,” said Aurea Miclat-Teves,
FIAN Philippines president.
Last week, the Social Weather Station released its third
quarter findings which showed that 21% or an estimated 4.3
million households experienced having nothing to eat in the

last three months, up from 18.4% in May. This was due to an
18% increase in moderate hunger -- defined as experiencing
having nothing to eat only once or a few times. SWS said
that the overall hunger rose the sharpest in Metro Manila, by
10 points to 26% or an estimated 738,000 families.
Miclat-Teves said such a policy needs the full and
active participation of all actors concerned, including
those most vulnerable to hunger. She said the policy must
be along the recommendations by the United Nations
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(CESCR) in General Comment No. 12 (1999) and the
FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food (2004).
More hungry people
Ricardo Reyes, FIAN Philippines vice president,

said: “In a country with a total population of almost 100
million, one percent is too many, 21% is too much. Hindi
ganito karami ang nagugutom noon. Old folks used to say
that even during the Japanese occupation, hunger did not
become a problem because our land has been blessed with
fertile land and plenty of water and sunshine.”
“We want the President to give the Filipino people a
reason to celebrate the forthcoming World Food Day by
declaring as urgent the crafting of a national food policy,”
said Reyes.
World Food Day is celebrated every October 16 in
honor of the founding date of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations in 1945. The annual
celebration was established by FAO’s member countries
at the Organization’s 20th General Conference in

November 1979.
Citing the study authored by Virgilio de los Reyes and
Maria Socorro I. Diokno, entitled “The Filipinos’ Right to
Food: An Assessment of the Philippine Legal Framework
Governing the Right to Food” and published by the Right to
Food and Nutrition (RTFN) Watch this year, Miclat-Teves
explained why the current laws do not ensure availability,
accessibility and safety of food for the entire population.
Availability
Food availability laws relate to agrarian reform, agricultural

policy, and trade measures as determinants of people’s access
to land, agricultural productivity, and food supply.
Miclat-Teves said that the passage of Republic Act 8178,
or the Agricultural Tariffication Act, repealed laws that
provided for prohibitions and quantitative restrictions on the
importation of agricultural products such as onions, potatoes,
garlic, coffee, livestock, seeds, and tobacco.
“This law removed the protection granted to small
farmers from importation of agricultural products that are
produced in sufficient quantity in the country,” she stressed.
The study also showed that there are no safeguards to
cushion the negative effects of food price volatility that
affects first the most vulnerable groups. In addition, it
warned that the obligation to respect the right to adequate
food could be seriously affected by the implementation
of laws such as the Biofules Act, if their implementation
is not integrated into an over-all agricultural plan and a
Miclat-Teves also lamented the still unfinished agrarian

reform program in the country. “Access to land by farmers
tilling or working on private agricultural land remains
unreachable to around 1.4 million supposed beneficiaries
working on 1.8 million hectares of land,” she said.
Accessibility
Laws on food accessibility incorporate both

dimensions of the physical and economic access to food.
The study revealed that physical accessibility laws
are so far limited to mobility such as ramps for persons
with disabilities and do not focus on enhancing people’s
physical access to land to grow their own food.
It also found out that existing laws on economic
accessibility do not have sufficient impact as they do not make
food affordable for everyone. Laws on prices just refer to the
requirement of price tags, while price regulation or price
control is only used during calamities or emergency situations.
Laws on wages and income are insufficient and to some extent
have negative effects like the one-year ban on wage hikes.
Credit laws do not address easy access to loans for small holders
but enumerate rigid requirements and guidelines. Worse,
most existing laws are not properly or fully implemented.
Safety
Food safety laws refer to the nutritive quality of food,

safety standards and regulations, and sanitation that ensure
that food available for consumption contains enough nutritive
values and is free from contaminants and other harmful
microorganisms. These include aspects of food fortification,

salt iodization, breastfeeding/milk code or food safety
standards,whose inspection,monitoring and regulation are the
responsibilities of the Food and DrugAdministration,National
Meat Inspection Service, and Local Government Units.
Crucial steps
Aside from adopting a national food policy, the

government needs to rationalize the legal framework
governing food.
“This can be done by synchronizing laws, addressing
contradictions in policy objectives, correcting flaws and
ambiguities, repealing laws that obstruct the realization
of the right to adequate food, aligning the national budget
to the national food policy, enhancing the mandates of
the national human rights institutions, and improving the
process of law-making,” Miclat-Teves said.
“Most important is to use the right based approach in
adopting a national food policy and rationalizing its legal
framework,” she stressed.
-o0o-
Govt urged to craft national food policy

by Jonathan L. Mayuga
Business Mirror
10 October 2012 18:15
FOOD security advocates on Wednesday underscored

the urgent need to put in place a national food policy to
address the high incidence of hunger in the Philippines.
President Aquino, they said, should take the lead in

crafting the national food policy.
FoodFirst Information and Action Network (FIAN)
Philippines President Aurea Miclat-Teves said that such
national food policy needs the full and active participation of all
actors concerned, including those most vulnerable to hunger.
The group issued the statement in time for World
Food Day celebration. World Food Day is celebrated
every Oct. 16, in honor of the founding date of the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in
1945. The annual celebration was established by FAO’s
member countries at the Organization’s 20th General
Conference in November 1979.
The crafting of a national food policy is among the
recommendations by the United Nations Committee
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in
General Comment No. 12 (1999) and the FAO’s Voluntary
Guidelines on the Right to Food (2004).
conflicting legal mechanisms,” Miclat-Teves said.
She was referring to the third-quarter findings
of the Social Weather Station, which showed that
21 percent or an estimated 4.3 million households
experienced having nothing to eat in the last three
months, up from 18.4 percent in May. This was due to
an 18-percent increase in moderate hunger -- defined
as experiencing having nothing to eat only once or a
few times. SWS said that the overall hunger rose the
sharpest in Metro Manila, by 10 points to 26 percent

or an estimated 738,000 families.
“In a country with a total population of almost 100
million, one percent is too many and 21 percent is too
much. Hindi ganito karami ang nagugutom noon. Old
folks used to say that even during the Japanese occupation,
hunger did not become a problem because our land has
been blessed with fertile land and plenty of water and
sunshine,” FIAN Vice President Ricardo Reyes said.
Reyes said.
According to Miclat-Teves, the current laws do not ensure
availability, accessibility and safety of food for the entire
population, citing a study authored by Virgilio de los Reyes
and Maria Socorro I. Diokno entitled “The Filipinos’ Right
to Food: An Assessment of the Philippine Legal Framework
Governing the Right to Food” and published by the Right to
Food and Nutrition (RTFN) Watch this year.
The passage of Republic Act 8178, or the Agricultural
Tariffication Act, the study said, repealed laws that
provided for prohibitions and quantitative restrictions on
the importation of agricultural products such as onions,
potatoes, garlic, coffee, livestock, seeds, and tobacco,
which in effect left local food producers unprotected
from massive importation of cheap, highly subsidized
agricultural products from other countries.
Also, the study showed there are no safeguards to
cushion the negative effects of food price volatility that
affects the most vulnerable groups first.
“Access to land by farmers tilling or working on

private agricultural land remains unreachable to around
1.4 million supposed beneficiaries working on 1.8 million
hectares of land,” she said.
Meanwhile, the study said physical accessibility laws
Existing laws on economic accessibility do not have
sufficient impact as they do not make food affordable for
everyone, the study added.
Meanwhile, laws on prices just refer to the requirement
of price tags, while price regulation or price control is
only used during calamities or emergency situations.
Worse, laws on wages and income are insufficient and
to some extent have negative effects like the one-year ban
on wage hikes. Credit laws do not address easy access to
loans for small holders but enumerate rigid requirements
and guidelines. Besides, most existing laws are not
properly or fully implemented.
Aside from adopting a national food policy, the
government needs to rationalize the legal framework
governing food, she said.
“This can be done by synchronizing laws, addressing
process of law-making,” Miclat-Teves said.
-o0o-
6 million Pinoy children malnourished - UN report
By Ted Torres and Rhodina Villanueva
The Philippine Star (Updated)
October 11, 2012 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The United Nations has

reported that an estimated six million Filipino children
are malnourished, 60,000 of them are vulnerable to sexual
exploitation, while at least 66 percent under the age of six
do not have childcare.
After the onslaught of typhoon “Sendong” last year,
the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) expressed
concern over the rising malnutrition cases in calamity-
devastated communities.
Abdul Alim, Unicef country representative, said
malnutrition has long been an issue among children in
Mindanao and the typhoon worsened the situation.
“Malnutrition is an especially serious concern for
Mindanao, where a significant number of children are already
undernourished. Sendong dealt an additional blow to these
children’s health. That is why we need to keep a close eye on
the situation of these vulnerable young children,” Alim said.
The UN report titled “The State of Food Insecurity in the
World 2012” also said that almost 870 million people in the
world, or one in eight, are suffering from chronic malnutrition.
It said the vast majority of the hungry – 852 million –
live in developing countries in Asia and Africa.
While the number of malnourished people declined
by almost 30 percent in Asia and the Pacific over the past
two decades, Africa experienced an increase from 175
million to 239 million during the same period.
The report strongly indicated that the world is still

short of achieving its Millennium Development Goals
(MDG) in terms of food and nutrition. It categorically
expressed dismay that the MDG targets would not be
achieved.
“In today’s world of unprecedented technical
and economic opportunities, we find it entirely
unacceptable that more than 100 million children
under five are underweight, and therefore unable
to realize their full human and socio-economic
potential, and that childhood malnutrition is a cause
of death for more than 2.5 million children every
year,” the report said in its foreword, co-written by
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) director
general Jose Graziano da Silva, International Fund
for Agricultural Development president Kanayo
Nwanze and World Food Program executive director
Ertharin Cousin.
“If the average annual hunger reduction in the past
20 years continues through to 2015, the percentage of
undernourishment in the developing countries would
reach 12.5 percent – still above the MDG target of 11.6
percent,” the UN report said.
Between the periods of 1990-1992 and 2010-2012, the
number of hungry people declined by 132 million, from
18.6 percent to 12.5 percent of the world’s population.
However, since 2007, global progress in reducing
hunger has slowed down and leveled off, requiring
countries to take appropriate measures if they are to
meet the MDG of reducing by half the number of people
suffering from hunger by 2015.
The report suggested adopting a twin-track approach

based on support for economic growth, including
agriculture growth involving smallholders, and safety nets
for the most vulnerable. It said higher priority must be
given to getting quality nutrition to prevent malnutrition
from co-existing with obesity and non-communicable
diseases.
Meanwhile, officials of a non-government organization
said the lack of a comprehensive national food policy
is one of the major reasons why the country has high
incidence of hunger.
Philippines president Aurea Miclat-Teves said there is an
urgent need to craft policies, and for the full and active
participation of all concerned, including those most
vulnerable to hunger.
“The result of the latest survey on hunger
incidence is unacceptable and alarming. We urge
the President to declare as urgent the crafting of a
national food policy that will rectify incoherent, non-
complementary and conflicting legal mechanisms,”
said Miclat-Teves.
Last week, the Social Weather Stations (SWS)
released its third quarter findings that showed 21
percent or at least 4.3 million households experienced
having nothing to eat in the last three months, up
from 18.4 percent in May. This was due to an 18
percent increase in moderate hunger – defined as
experiencing having nothing to eat only once or a
few times.
-o0o-
Cash dole no answer to poverty, says NGO

By DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 11, 2012, 3:39 am
AP PHOTO/AARON FAVILA
In spite of its successes, the government’s conditional cash

transfer (CCT) program is not the solution to rising hunger
in the country, according to a nongovernmental organization.
Philippines criticized the Aquino government’s reliance
on the dole in easing poverty and reducing hunger, saying
the program was insufficient to deal with these problems.
“This program has a wide coverage and contributes to
children’s economic access to food. However, it remains
very inadequate and is conditioned on performing other
obligations whereas the right to food, which is a basic
human right, is unconditional,” said Aurea Miclat-Teves,
FIAN Philippines president.
In a statement from the group issued Wednesday,
Teves said the supply of conditional services, such as
schools and medicines “has been far behind the demand

for these services.”
“The CCT program is not part of a coherent food
policy,” Teves said.
FIAN Philippines said the rising hunger in the country
was partly due to the lack of a comprehensive national
food policy. It pointed to an urgent need for laws that
would require full and active participation of all sectors
concerned, including those most vulnerable to hunger.
Last week, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey
showed that 21 percent of the population, or an estimated
4.3 million families, went hungry at least once in the last
three months, up from 18.4 percent in May.
The spike resulted from an 18 percent increase in
“moderate hunger,” defined by SWS as having nothing to
eat once or a few times.
Overall hunger rose the sharpest in Metro Manila by
10 points to 26 percent, or an estimated 738,000 families.
Teves said the results of the hunger survey were
“unacceptable and alarming.”
million, 1 percent is too many, 21 percent is too much.
Not this many people were ever hungry before,” Ricardo
Reyes, FIAN Philippines vice president, said.
“Old folks used to say that even during the Japanese
occupation, hunger did not become a problem because
our land has been blessed with fertile land and plenty of
water and sunshine,” he said.
The group urged President Aquino to draw up a
national food policy so the Filipino people would have
reason to celebrate World Food Day on Oct. 16.
World Food Day is celebrated to remember the

founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations in 1945.
Referring to the study “The Filipinos’ Right to Food: An
Assessment of the Philippine Legal Framework Governing
the Right to Food” by Virgilio de los Reyes and Maria Socorro
I. Diokno, Teves said current laws do not ensure availability,
accessibility and safety of food for the entire population.
-o0o-
Human rights group: To end hunger, PHL needs

comprehensive food policy
GMA News
October 12, 2012 10:00am
As World Food Day on October 16 approaches, a

human rights organization said the Philippines needs
a comprehensive national food policy to end its high
Philippines said recent survey results showing hunger
now stalks 21 percent of families is unacceptable.
is unacceptable and alarming. We urge the President
to declare as urgent the crafting of a national food
policy that will rectify incoherent, non-complementary
and conflicting legal mechanisms,” FIAN Philippines
president Aurea Teves said.
World Food Day is celebrated every October 16 in
honor of the founding date of the United Nations’ Food
and Agriculture Organization in 1945.
In its survey conducted from August 24 to 27, Social

Weather Stations said 21 percent or 4.3 million families
experience involuntary hunger at least once the last three
months.
The SWS survey showed moderate hunger at 18
percent and severe hunger at 3 percent.
million, one percent is too many, 21% is too much,” said
FIAN Philippines vice president Ricardo Reyes.
Reyes added that even during the Japanese occupation,
hunger did not become a problem because the country is
blessed with fertile land and plenty of water and sunshine.
he added.
According to Teves, the food policy should involve all
stakeholders, including those most vulnerable to hunger.
The policy should also be along the recommendations
by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (CESCR).
Food availability

FIAN cited a study by Virgilio de los Reyes and
Maria Socorro Diokno, “The Filipinos’ Right to Food:
An Assessment of the Philippine Legal Framework
Governing the Right to Food” and published by the
Right to Food and Nutrition (RTFN) Watch this year,
that showed current laws do not ensure availability,
accessibility and safety of food for all.
FIAN noted that present food availability laws relate

to agrarian reform, agricultural policy, and trade measures
to determine access to land, agricultural productivity, and
food supply.
Teves noted Republic Act 8178, the Agricultural
Tariffication Act, repealed laws that restricted the
importation of agricultural products such as onions,
potatoes, garlic, coffee, livestock, seeds, and tobacco.
“This law removed the protection granted to small
farmers from importation of agricultural products that are
produced in sufficient quantity in the country,” she said.
The study also showed that there were no safeguards
to cushion the negative effects of food price volatility.
Laws like the Biofuels Act may affect the obligation
to respect the right to adequate food, the study said.
The study also showed that physical accessibility laws
It also found out that existing laws on economic
accessibility do not have sufficient impact as they do not
make food affordable for everyone.
“Laws on prices just refer to the requirement of
price tags, while price regulation or price control is only
used during calamities or emergency situations. Laws on
wages and income are insufficient and to some extent
have negative effects like the one-year ban on wage hikes.
Credit laws do not address easy access to loans for small
holders but enumerate rigid requirements and guidelines.
Worse, most existing laws are not properly or fully
implemented,” the group said.
“Unfinished” agrarian reform

Teves also lamented that the agrarian reform program
in the country is still unfinished.
“Access to land by farmers tilling or working on
private agricultural land remains unreachable to around
1.4 million supposed beneficiaries working on 1.8 million
hectares of land,” she said.
Teves noted there are special laws for the most
vulnerable, such as one that requires day care centers
to provide a feeding program, nutritional monitoring
and supplementary feeding as it considers that food
deprivation is a form of child abuse.
She also cited the Senior Citizens Law that provides
discounts for elderly people, “especially on basic food items.”
“However, the right to food of people with disabilities
or people living with HIV and the specific obstacles they
face are not legally recognized nor subject to particular
attention,” she said.

Conditional cash transfer

Meanwhile, Teves criticized the government’s
conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, which she
said “remains very inadequate and is conditioned on
performing other obligations whereas the right to food,
which is a basic human right, is unconditional.”
“In addition, the supply of conditioned services like school
facilities and medicines and doctors and nurses in health
centers has been far behind the demand for these services. The
CCT program is not part of a coherent food policy,” she said.
The group also urged the Philippine government to

rationalize the legal framework governing food.
Teves suggested synchronizing laws, addressing
process of law-making.
“Most important is to use the right-based approach
in adopting a national food policy and rationalizing its
legal framework,” she said. - VVP, GMA News
-o0o-
Food for all

The BusinessMirror Editorial
October 13, 2012 18:52
THE statistics are alarming. Last week the

Social Weather Stations (SWS) released its third-
quarter findings that showed 21 percent, or at
least 4.3 million, households experienced having
nothing to eat in the last three months, up from

18.4 percent in May. The spike resulted from an
18-percent increase in “moderate hunger,” defined
by SWS as having nothing to eat once or a few
times. Overall hunger rose the sharpest in Metro
Manila by 10 points to 26 percent, or an estimated
738,000 families.
On the other hand, the United Nations
Children’s Fund has reported that an estimated 6
million Filipino children are malnourished. After
the onslaught of Typhoon Sendong last year, it said,
malnutrition cases increased in calamity-devastated
communities. Malnutrition has long been an issue
among children in Mindanao, and the typhoon
worsened the situation.
World Food Day is observed on October 16
every year, coinciding with the date of the founding
of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture
Organization back in 1945. And this is a good time
as any to focus attention on the state of food security
in the country.
For the non-governmental organization (NGO)
Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN)
Philippines, the lack of a comprehensive national food
policy is one of the major reasons the country has high
Thus, it said, there is an urgent need to craft policies,
and for the full and active participation of all concerned,
including those most vulnerable to hunger.

conflicting legal mechanisms,” FIAN said.
The NGO argues that the government’s Conditional
Cash-Transfer (CCT) Program is not the solution to
rising hunger in the country: “This program has a
wide coverage and contributes to children’s economic
access to food. However, it remains very inadequate
and is conditioned on performing other obligations,
whereas the right to food, which is a basic human
right, is unconditional.”
The NGO is correct. But then, the CCT was
never touted by the government as the solution
to widespread poverty. What the program wants
to do is to reduce absolute poverty incidence by
helping the poorest of the poor survive their harsh
economic situation. The CCT is not an outright
dole but rather compels beneficiaries to send their
children to school and for mothers to get regular
health checkups.
We need to ensure availability, accessibility and
safety of food for the entire population. The UN
suggests adopting a twin-track approach based on
support for economic growth, including agriculture
growth involving smallholders, and safety nets for
the most vulnerable. These are steps in the right
direction. Food for all should be the goal, so that
hunger and malnutrition can be kept from casting a
dark shadow over the daily lives of the poor and the
marginalized.
-o0o-
Campaign launched on ‘right to adequate food’

by Jonathan L. Mayuga
Business Mirror
15 October 2012 19:25
VARIOUS stakeholders representing more than 50

people’s and non-governmental organizations from all over
the country on Monday gathered in Quezon City to launch
a national campaign on the “right to adequate food.”
The launch came on Oct. 16, a day ahead of celebration
of World Food Day. Incidentally, the Aquino administration
released its latest study, claiming that a daily budget of P172
is enough for a family of five members to be considered “non-
poor.” The findings released through the National Statistical
Coordination Board (NSCB), apparently raised eyebrows
and earned the flak of government critics.
Led by the Foodfirst Information and Action Network
(FIAN) Philippines and the Peoples Development Institute
for Asia (PDI), together with the Philippine Alliance
of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) and Philippine
Human Rights Information Center (PHILRIGHTS),
the event’s participants launched the National Food
Campaign to push for a comprehensive national food
policy with the slogan “Pagkain: Sapat Dapat!”
Aurea Miclat-Teves, head of the secretariat of the newly-
found National Food Coalition, earlier said that the lack of
a comprehensive national food policy is one of the major
reasons why the country has a high incidence of hunger.
The crafting of such policy needs the full and active
participation of all actors concerned, especially those
most vulnerable to hunger, she said.
The proposed national food policy, according to Miclat-

Teves, must conform with the recommendations of the United
Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(CESCR) in General Comment No. 12 (1999) and the FAO’s
Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food (2004).
General Comment No. 12 explicitly states that “[t]
he right to adequate food is realized when every man,
woman and child, alone or in community with others,
has physical and economic access at all times to adequate
food or means for its procurement. The right to adequate
food shall therefore not be interpreted in a narrow or
restrictive sense which equates it with a minimum package
of calories, proteins and other specific nutrients.”
“How can we celebrate World Food Day if one in
every five households in our country has experienced
hunger in the past three months? We are hopeful that
other stakeholders, especially those in the government,
heed our call as there is undoubtedly an increasing
incidence of hunger and poverty in our country,” said
Teves, also the president of FIAN Philippines.
The Social Weather Stations’ (SWS) third-quarter
findings released in September showed that 21 percent or an
estimated 4.3 million households experienced having nothing
to eat in the last three months, up from 18.4 percent in May.
SWS said overall hunger rose sharpest in Metro
Manila, by 10 points to 26 percent or an estimated
738,000 families.
Also launched during the event was the fifth Right
to Food and Nutrition Watch Magazine, which provides
information and analysis on the right to food.
-o0o-
National Policy On Food Urged

Manila Bulletin
October 15, 2012, 7:35pm
By Ellalyn B. de Vera
Some 300 food security advocates from around the

country gathered to craft a comprehensive national policy
on the right to adequate food, in celebration of the World
Food Day.
The advocates, representing more than 50 people’s
and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and led by
the Foodfirst Information and Action Network (FIAN)-
Philippines and the Peoples Development Institute
for Asia (PDI), together with the Philippine Alliance
of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) and Philippine
Human Rights Information Center (PHILRIGHTS),
launched the National Food Campaign with the slogan
“Pagkain: Sapat Dapat!”
Aurea Miclat-Teves, head of the secretariat of the
National Food Coalition, said the lack of a comprehensive
national food policy is one of the major reasons why the
country has a high incidence of hunger.
Teves said crafting such a policy needs the full and
active participation of all actors concerned, especially
those most vulnerable to hunger.
The proposed national food policy must conform
with the recommendations of the United Nations
(CESCR) in General Comment No. 12 (1999) and
the FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food
(2004), she explained.
General Comment No. 12 explicitly states that

“the right to adequate food is realized when every
man, woman and child, alone or in community with
others, has physical and economic access at all times to
adequate food or means for its procurement. The right
to adequate food shall therefore not be interpreted in
a narrow or restrictive sense which equates it with
a minimum package of calories, proteins and other
specific nutrients.”
“How can we celebrate World Food Day if one in
every five households in our country has experienced
hunger in the past three months? We are hopeful
that other stakeholders, especially those in the
government, heed our call as there is undoubtedly
an increasing incidence of hunger and poverty in
our country,” said Teves, also the president of FIAN
Philippines.
The Social Weather Stations’ third quarter findings
released in September showed that 21 percent, or an
estimated 4.3 million households, experienced having
nothing to eat in the last three months, up from 18.4
percent in May.
SWS said overall hunger rose sharpest in Metro
Manila, by 10 points to 26 percent or an estimated
738,000 families.
Also launched during the event was the 5th Right to
Food and Nutrition Watch Magazine, which provides
information and analysis on the right to food.
-o0o-
`Zero hunger challenge: Is it attainable?

Rappler.com
by Voltaire Tupaz
Posted on 10/16/2012 10:55 PM
Updated 11/03/2012 2:47 PM
RIGHT TO FOOD. Indigenous young people

demand for adequate food during the observance of
World Food Day in the Philippines. Photo by Project
Development Institute
MANILA, Philippines - “Eliminating hunger in our
lifetimes.”
This is the “next big push,” according to UN Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon in a message to a UN food body at
a meeting on food security taking place in Rome.
Ki-moon was referring to his “Zero Hunger Challenge,”
an initiative he first pitched before the UN Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil in June 2012.
The goal of the challenge is for every human being to
have adequate nutrition and for food sources to be resilient.
The campaign pursues the following objectives:

• Make sure that everyone in the world has access to
enough nutritious food all year long
• End childhood stunting
• Build sustainable food systems
• Double the productivity and income of smallholder
farmers, especially women
• Prevent food from being lost or wasted
CFS or the Committee on World Food Security, an

intergovernmental body tasked to review and follow up
food security policies, convened the meeting in time for the
observance of the World Food Day Tuesday, October 16.
Cut hunger by half
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) took

up the challenge even as it attempts to meet the UN’s
Millennium Development Goals’ (MDGs) 2015 deadline
for decreasing global hunger.
“As we renew and increase our commitment to reach
the Millennium Development Goal for hunger reduction,
let’s look beyond it, towards the total eradication of hunger
because, when it comes to hunger, the only acceptable
number is ‘zero,’” FAO Director-General José Graziano
da Silva said.
The FAO’s State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012
report revealed that nearly 870 million people around the
world suffer from chronic malnutrition.
However, Graziano announced that the number of
hungry people was reduced by 132 million since 1990, an
“important progress,” he said. The proportion of hungry

people in developing countries also decreased from
23.2% to 14.9% over the same period, according to the
top UN official.
Graziano is optimistic that targets for cutting the
proportion of hungry people around the world by half
can still be achieved if countries step up their efforts to
address hunger.
NATIONAL FOOD POLICY. Indigenous women launch campaign

to craft legal framework on the right to adequate food. Photo by
Peoples Development Institute
Hunger in the Philippines
Advocates of food security in the Philippines expressed

concern that the Philippines is not yet ready for the
challenge, blaming the shortcomings of the government
in providing an adequate budget and appropriate policies
to address hunger in the country.
A survey released by the Social Weather Station
in September revealed that 21% or about 4.3 million
Filipino households experienced involuntary hunger the

previous 3 months, up from 18.4% in May.
“The national budget does not reflect bias for
addressing hunger situation,” Aurea Miclat-Teves,
president of the Foodfirst Information and Action
Network (FIAN) Philippines said, adding that it manifests
“the weak political will of the government to eradicate
hunger.”
Only P70.8-B (around $1.65-B) was allocated to
the departments of agriculture and agrarian reform
compared to the P106.9-B (around $2.8-B) budget for
the defense department, Teves noted in a report she co-
wrote with Maria Socorro Diokno for the Right to Food
and Nutrition Watch 2012 magazine.
The report also noted that access to land by farmers
who are food producers has remained “unreachable to
around 1.4 million supposed benificiaries working on 1.8
million hectares of land.”
The magazine, published by Germany-based Brot fur
die Welt (Bread for the World) and other international
organizations, was launched on October 15 at the
University of the Philippines Diliman in a gathering of
more than 300 food security advocates.
National food policy
The gathering also kicked off a campaign that pushes

for the recognition of the right to adequate food in
government policies. The policy advocacy will be carried
out by the National Food Coalition, a network of more
than 50 organizations led by FIAN Philippines.
Teves said that the lack of a comprehensive national

food policy is a key reason why the country experiences a
high incidence of hunger.
“The government does not fulfill this obligation. One
of the reasons is the lack of a national framework that
would respond to the food needs of the people,” Teves
said.
This has resulted in incoherent and conflicting laws
and legal mechanisms that deal with food concerns,
according to Teves.
Teves added that the Philippine Constitution does
not explicitly recognize the right to adequate food, also
explaining the weak food policy framework.
“We are hopeful that the government will heed our
call as there is undoubtedly an increasing incidence of
hunger and poverty in our country,” Teves said.
According to Teves, the proposed policy on food
must conform with the recommendations of the UN
(CESR) and the FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines on the Right
to Food.
CESR defined the right to adequate food as “physical
and economic access at all times to adequate food or
means for its procurement.” - Rappler.com
-o0o-
Social Protection Programs Need Improvement

Manila Bulletin – Mon, Feb 25, 2013
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/social-protection-programs-
improvement-105652977.html
MANILA, Philippines --- Human rights advocates

urged policymakers yesterday to improve the country’s
social protection programs and increase funding for social
services for the growing population of Filipino youth.
FoodFirst Information and Action Network
Philippines (FIAN Philippines), Peoples Development
Institute (PDI), and Action For Economic Reforms (AER)
agreed during a forum that policymakers should seriously
consider the importance of the country’s demographics
because the existing social protection programs leave out
large segments of the poor vulnerable.
“Our country has a young population with an average
of 22.5 years old and has only 8 percent of the population
who will be 65 years old or older by 2030,” Chavez said.
Joy Chavez, and AER fellow, noted that the Philippines
has low dependency rate.
Dependency ratio is an age-population ratio of those
typically not in the labor force or dependents (zero to 14
years old and 65 years old and above) and those in the
labor or productive force (15-64 years old), she said. It is
used to measure the pressure on productive population.
“The challenge now is how to sustain an active
population,” Chavez said.
She added that an active population exerts pressure on
the provision of basic services, especially health care and
education.
Moreover, it requires that the quantity and quality of
employment be given special attention. Recent data show that
85 percent of the unemployed are educated (at least high school
graduates), and half of the unemployed are 15-24 years old.
“So while there’s not a significant older generation to worry
about, unemployment has a negative impact on a predominantly
insurance-based social protection system,” she said.
Chavez also cited that social protection in the Philippines is
largely insurance-based, through the Social Security System (SSS),
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) and PhilHealth.
Most insurance-based schemes depend on
employment, or voluntary membership, she said.
“However, these social protection schemes cannot
cover most of those in the informal sector. PhilHealth is
an exception but it covers only health services,” she said.
She added that the conditional cash transfer (CCT)
program does not cover or it has unclear coverage of the elderly
and families without reproductive age mothers or school-age
children. She said CCT also does not cover certain vulnerable
types, such as those extreme homeless and street children.
Social protection constitutes policies, programs, and
interventions that seek to reduce the susceptibility of the
poor and vulnerable to risks. This can be done through the
promotion and protection of livelihood and employment,
improvement in their capacity to manage risks and their
protection from disruption or loss of income, loss of
welfare and diminished wellbeing.
“This brings to fore the need to assess the efficacy of
insurance-based systems vis-à-vis direct provision via general
social services; or how the two are connected,” she said.
-o0o-
Candidates asked: What will you do to end hunger

of 16.5 million Filipinos?
By: InterAksyon.com
February 28, 2013 10:21 PM
MANILA, Philippines - A coalition of non-government

and people’s organizations and individuals advocating
right to adequate food on Thursday challenged national
and local candidates in the May 13 elections to aim for
hunger-free Philippines.
Aurea Miclat-Teves, convenor of the National Food
Coalition said her group would like to know what the
candidates have to say about food security and how they,
as leaders and legislators, once elected, can make this a
reality in the Philippines “in this lifetime.”
“Is there hope that the 16th Congress will improve the
situation?” asked Teves, also president of FIAN Philippines,
adding that hunger had been haunting the country under the
various administrations since the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos.
“As the current administration winds up its reform
program, there is a need to make the administration
aware and see the urgency of crafting a national food
policy before it bows out of office,” Teves said.
“The crucial element in any platform to improve the
lives of Filipinos is assuring food security for the nation – or
providing adequate food that is accessible to all, especially to
the poor in the rural and urban areas,” she added.
The challenge of ensuring food security is especially
for those who will win as senators and representatives as
they will be the ones who will legislate a national food
policy, according to Teves.
“We must, therefore, determine which candidates have made
themselves informed of the issues involved in regard to food
security and are going to take the correct steps to address this
problem and approach it from the right perspective,” she said.
Three times Singapore’s population
Citing the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations

on hunger, Teves said that there are 3.3 million Filipinos
or 16.5 million individuals who have experienced
involuntary hunger or having had nothing to eat at least
once in the past three months.
“That is roughly the size of Holland and about three
times the population of Singapore,” she said.
Moreover, Teves said hunger incidence had steadily
risen nationwide from 1998 to 2012.
She said that in 2012 the incidence of hunger in the
National Capital Region more than doubled to 22.9
percent from only 8.1 percent in 1998.
“In the rest of Luzon, the incidence increased from 9.9
percent to 17.8 percent; in the Visayas, it rose from 11.3
percent to14.6 percent; in Mindanao it was 14.5 percent,
increasing to 26.3 percent. Over this period, moderate
to severe hunger almost doubled to 19.9 percent in 2012
from 11 percent in 1998,” Teves said.
“During these years, the official Philippine population
figure rose from 60.7 million in 1990 to 76.51 million in
2000 and 92.34 million in 2010. So as our population steadily
expanded, so did the number of hungry Filipinos rise while
undernourishment declined only slowly,” she added.
-o0o-
Group to Aquino: Declare right to adequate food a

national policy
By: InterAksyon.com
March 3, 2013 12:23 PM
MANILA, Philippines - With more than three

years left to the current administration, President
Benigno S. Aquino III should declare right to adequate
food a national policy in order to leave a legacy that
is beneficial to the present and future generations,
the National Food Coalition (NFC) said in a news
release.
In an event dubbed “National Conference on the
Right to Adequate Food: A Collective Action for
Policy Reform,” Aurea Miclat-Teves, NFC convenor,
said there is a need for the government to come
up with an enabling law that will rectify existing
incoherent, non-complementary and conflicting legal
mechanisms.
The conference was attended and participated
in by more than 100 human rights defenders,
rural development advocates, pro-environment
groups, indigenous peoples, and non-governmental
organizations from various parts of the country and
representatives of different national government agencies
last February 27 to 28.
Not in Constitution
In a presentation, lawyer Maria Socorro I. Diokno,

secretary-general of Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG),
pointed out that the right to adequate food (RTAF) is

not recognized in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. She
proposed the enactment of a “Philippine Food Framework
Law.”
“As part of the Declaration of Policy in the proposed
enabling law, the state should explicitly recognize right to
adequate food as fundamental human right,” said Diokno,
adding that RTAF should be defined as a freedom and
an entitlement that is beyond minimum set of calories,
proteins and other nutrients.
“The purpose of the proposed law must be to realize
right to adequate food of every Filipino,” the FLAG
Officer stressed.
Diokno further explained that said enabling law
should set targets or goals with time frames. Among the
goals to be set are: eradication of hunger; improvement
in nutrition; elimination of gender disparity in access
to food/resources for food; and, sustainable use and
management of natural and other resources for food.
She also said that the contents of the proposed law

should include institutional responsibility mechanisms
such as the identification of a lead agency, inter-agency
collaboration, and collaboration with all food actors.
It should also include avenues for recourse to deal
with discrimination in access, non-security of land tenure,
unfair trade competition and harm caused by unsafe food.
The state should also allocate appropriate funds with
sources of funds and specific rules or guidelines on fund
use, management and liquidation.
To ensure the efficient and effective implementation of
the proposed law, Diokno also stressed that there should be
a national mechanism for monitoring. “It can be a ‘National
Coordinating Committee for Food’ or similar body,”she said.
Not in HR action plan
In another presentation, Max De Mesa, chairman

of the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates
(PAHRA), disclosed that the right to adequate food is
not substantially addressed and is not even a thematic
objective in the final draft of the National Human Rights
Action Plan (NHRAP) initiated by the government.
“Of crucial importance is the program to the right
to adequate food,” de Mesa emphasized, adding “that
without it, actions to reduce poverty would be weak and
the whole National Human Rights Action Plan anemic.”
-o0o-
Declare ‘right to food’ as national policy,

food advocates urge Aquino
BusinessMirror
Category: Agri-Commodities
Published on Sunday, 03 March 2013 19:44
Written by Jonathan L. Mayuga / Reporter
PRESIDENT Aquino was urged on Sunday to declare

the right to adequate food (RTAF) a national policy and
leave a legacy beneficial to present and future generations.
The appeal was made by a network of food-security
advocates under the National Food Coalition (NFC)
after the “National Conference on the Right to Adequate
Food: A Collective Action for Policy Reform” was held
on February 27 and 28.
More than 100 human-rights defenders, rural-
development advocates, environmental advocates,
indigenous peoples, people’s and non-governmental
organizations from various parts of the country, and
representatives of different government agencies took
part in the event.
Aurea Miclat-Teves, NFC convenor, said there is a need
for the government to come up with an enabling law that
will rectify the existing “incoherent, non-complementary
and conflicting legal mechanisms” on food.
For her part, lawyer Maria Socorro I. Diokno, secretary-
general of the Free Legal Assistance Group, proposed the
enactment of a “Philippine Food Framework Law.”
In a presentation during the conference, Diokno
said the RTAF is not recognized in the 1987 Philippine
Constitution.
“As part of the Declaration of Policy in the proposed

enabling law, the state should explicitly recognize [the]
right to adequate food as [a] fundamental human right,”
Diokno said.
She added that RTAF should be defined as a freedom
and an entitlement that is “beyond [the] minimum set of
calories, proteins and other nutrients.”
Diokno also said, “The purpose of the proposed
law must be to realize right to adequate food of every
Filipino.”
She added that the enabling law should set targets or
goals with timeframes.
Among the goals to be set are the eradication of hunger,
improvement in nutrition, elimination of gender disparity
in access to food/resources for food, and sustainable use
and management of natural and other resources for food.
Diokno said the contents of the proposed law should
include institutional responsibility mechanisms such as the
identification of a lead agency, inter-agency collaboration
and collaboration with all food actors.
The proposed law should also include avenues for
recourse to deal with discrimination in access, non-security
of land tenure, unfair trade competition and harm caused
by unsafe food. The government should also allocate
appropriate funds with sources of funds and specific rules
or guidelines on fund use, management and liquidation.
To ensure the efficient and effective implementation of
the proposed law, Diokno said there should be a national
mechanism for monitoring.
“It can be a ‘National Coordinating Committee for
Food’ or [any] similar body,” she said.
Max de Mesa, chairman of the Philippine Alliance of

Human Rights Advocates, said RTAF is not substantially
addressed and is not even part of the final draft of the
government’s National Human Rights Action Plan.
“Of crucial importance is the program to the right
to adequate food,” de Mesa said. “Without it, actions to
reduce poverty would be weak and the whole National
Human Rights Action Plan [would be] anemic.”
-o0o-
Bets challenged to take on hunger problem

BusinessMirror, page A4
Category: Nation
Published on Thursday, 25 April 2013 20:43
Written by Jonathan L. Mayuga / Reporter
FOOD security advocates on Thursday challenged

candidates in the May 2013 midterm elections to focus
and debate on the country’s worsening hunger problem
rather than feeding Filipino voters with propaganda
trash.
Aurea Miclat-Teves, convener of the National Food
Coalition (NFC), said one of the major reasons the
country has a high incidence of hunger is the lack of a
comprehensive national food policy, which candidates
should seriously look into.
Teves said there is an urgent need to craft such policy
which needs the full and active participation of all sectors
concerned, including those most vulnerable to hunger.
“Should they get elected, incoming members of
the 16th Congress must prioritize the crafting of a

complementary and conflicting legal mechanisms,” Teves
said.Teves said that to show their sincerity in addressing
the country’s hunger problem, candidates should project
themselves during the campaign and must enact a
framework law on the right to adequate food of every
Filipino.
She said the hunger problem is experienced worldwide,
but it is worst in the Philippines.
There are some 870 million people in the world
who do not have enough to eat. Citing an infographic of
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations, Teves stressed that one in every eight individuals
goes to sleep hungry every day. In the Philippines one in
every six Filipinos suffer from involuntary hunger.
She added that FAO’s estimate is still conservative,
considering the third-quarter findings of the Social
Weather Station last year which showed that 21 percent
or an estimated 4.3 million households, or one in every
five persons experienced “having nothing to eat in the last
three months.”“At the rate this election campaign is going,
we have yet to hear concrete proposals from the candidates
in addressing the hunger problem,” Teves said.Citing data
from FAO, the NFC said that among the countries in
Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Cambodia are tied at
second with 17-percent prevalence of undernourishment.
In terms of actual number, the Philippines has 16
million undernourished persons, while Cambodia has 2
million.
Lao People’s Democratic Republic has the highest
prevalence of undernourishment in the region with 28
percent or 2 million individuals. Indonesia, while having only
9-percent prevalence of undernourishment, has the highest
number of undernourished citizens in the region, with 21.0
million.FAO defines undernourishment or chronic hunger
as the status of persons, whose food intake regularly provides
less than their minimum energy requirements.
The average minimum energy requirement per person
is about 1800 kilo calories per day. The exact requirement
is determined by a person’s age, body size, activity level
and physiological conditions such as illness, infection,
pregnancy and lactation.
-o0o-
Poverty data doubted, but...

The Philippine Star, page 1 (ear)
Updated April 26, 2013 - 12:00am
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN — President Aquino

doubts the accuracy of poverty data provided by a
government agency but says he is willing to adjust anti-
poverty measures to benefit more Filipinos.
He questioned data from the National Statistics
Coordination Board (NSCB) showing poverty levels
were unchanged despite economic growth.
“I have a bit of a doubt since they used the wrong
population data, which is the basis for computing per
capita income,” Aquino said the other night, midway
through the regional summit here of ASEAN leaders.
“How then can you properly compare 2009 and 2012?
The (NSCB) might feel bad, but these are off-the-cuff
remarks that were on top of my mind.”
Poverty incidence - or the percentage of the population

living below poverty line - stood at 27.9 percent in the
first semester of 2012, virtually unchanged from the 28.6
percent in 2009 and 28.8 percent in 2006.
Aquino chairs the National Economic and
Development Authority (NEDA) Board.
The NSCB and the National Statistics Office (NSO)
are attached agencies of NEDA.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda and Cabinet
Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, accompanying Aquino
in Brunei, belied reports that Socioeconomic Planning
Secretary Arsenio Balisacan was excluded from the
delegation to the 22nd Association of Southeast Asian
Nations summit, fueling speculation that it might be
related to the poverty report.
“NEDA is normally not very active in ASEAN because
it’s about negotiations with equivalent line ministers such
as trade, finance, etc.”, Almendras said. “Also, (Secretary)
Balisacan just arrived from a foreign trip.”
Lacierda also said the main topics for discussion are
primarily ASEAN matters and trade.
“It is not related whatsoever with the poverty survey,”
he said.
In a press conference on Wednesday night,
Aquino said he and his administration were open to
ideas and “everything that will accelerate inclusive
growth.”
However, he does not believe that immediately
pouring billions of pesos into a certain program could
actually effect change in poverty ratings overnight.
“Will we tweak it (anti-poverty programs)? Of
course, we’re open to all... everything that will accelerate
inclusive growth. But... it’s not as if we invest so many
billions now and in one month’s time you will see a
reversal,” he said.
Aquino said the Department of Social Welfare
and Development’s 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino
Program) has been receiving yearly budget increases
due to its effectiveness in lifting people from misery and
spurring economic growth.
“Now, I think what we should pay attention to is this:
All our interventions for instance, example the Pantawid
Pamilya Program... the DSWD’s budget increased over
200 percent,” he said.
“If we look at the economic activity in the areas where
many households are beneficiaries of this, when you talk to
the local businessmen, they will tell you there is a dramatic
increase in economic activity in their areas.”Lacierda said
the government remained focused on generating jobs for
Filipinos in urban and rural areas to mitigate poverty.
The Human Development and Poverty Reduction
Cabinet cluster had come up with an action plan to
generate jobs, he added.
Various programs to support the farmers are now in
place to improve the agricultural sector, Lacierda said.
Aquino said he never had the chance to study poverty
incidence thoroughly, but that 2009 population numbers
were “questionable” and thus could not be compared to
the 2012 figures.
“Somebody said there was really no change,
whatsoever, and I don’t think that’s what the statistics
said,” he said.
“Except for two regions, everybody else had...

Obviously, they want dramatic changes. But there is
reduction in the poverty levels in the rest of the regions.
Now, what’s difficult here is to predict (changes), it takes
time to gather statistics. But there are times when you ask
for a particular quarter and the results that will come to
you are two quarters after that.
“But, sorry, I just have to emphasize: The whole
country is not composed of two regions. There are only
two regions that had dramatic increases in poverty levels.
May I point out that one of them is ARMM (Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao) and the ARMM, if you
include 2009, how reliable are (the figures)? Are you
comparing apples to apples?” the President asked.
Aquino said projects for the ARMM had been
considered “ghosts” or nonexistent and even the
population figure had to be corrected.
The ARMM is the region with the highest poverty
incidence nationwide at 46.9 percent of families living
below the poverty line in the first semester of 2012.
Another region that saw an increase in poverty
incidence was SOCCSKSARGEN with 37.5 percent of
families living below the poverty line.
Hunger incidence worse in Phl
Aurea Miclat-Teves, National Food Coalition (NFC)

convener, said hunger incidence in the Philippines is
1:5.88 or almost 1:6, worse than the global average of 1:8.
“One in every six Filipinos is experiencing daily the
world’s number one health risk - hunger,” she said.
Teves said 870 million people worldwide do not have
enough to eat based on an infographic of the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“It is worse in the Philippines,” she said.
Teves said FAO’s estimate is still conservative,
considering the third quarter findings of the Social
Weather Stations last year showed 21 percent or an
estimated 4.3 million households or one in every five
persons experienced having nothing to eat in the last
three months.
“At the rate this election campaign is going, we have
yet to hear concrete proposals from the candidates in
addressing the hunger problem,” she said.
Teves, citing data from FAO, said among the countries
in Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Cambodia are tied
at 2nd with 17 percent prevalence of undernourishment.
million undernourished persons, while Cambodia has 2
million, she added.
Teves said one major reason why the Philippines has
high incidence of hunger is the lack of a comprehensive
“Should they get elected, incoming members of
the 16th Congress must prioritize the crafting of a
complementary and conflicting legal mechanisms,” she
said.
“If they are really sincere, as how they project
themselves during the campaign, then they must enact
a framework law on the right to adequate food of every
Filipino.”
Senatorial bets react
San Juan Rep. JV Ejercito said the NCSB report

should prod the government to buckle down to work.
“The Aquino administration can start by investing
heavily in quality education and make it accessible to all,”
he said.
“The government should also work with various
economic sectors to address job mismatches and focus
on the development of the manufacturing sector to
increase jobs.”
Ejercito said the country’s supposed economic gains
have failed to lift the millions of Filipinos out of poverty.
“The lack of productive jobs caused by the government’s
failure to implement the necessary economic reforms is
one of the major reasons why many have remained mired
in poverty,” he said.
Ejercito said implementing a stop-gap measure like
the conditional cash transfer program will not resolve the
social and economic ills.
“Workers are also deprived of the opportunity to earn
enough due to widespread underemployment especially
in the agriculture sector,” he said.
“The poor can no longer afford basic goods because
of the continuous increase in prices.”
He and the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) will
pursue programs and a legislative agenda focused on
giving the poor the means to ensure their children will
not inherit poverty, Ejercito said.
Former senator Migz Zubiri said only 40 families are
getting richer in the country.
“Only 40 taipans are making money,” he said.
“The six percent economic progress translates to
nothing to the millions of poor Filipinos. There has been
no trickle down effects to our people. What should be
done, with the increase of profits of businessmen, the
blessings should be shared by the employers to their
employees by giving them higher pay rates rather than
fattening their own accounts.”
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said the government
needs to focus on providing quality education accessible
to all and generate jobs to alleviate poverty.
“The latest data on poverty make us realize the need
for more comprehensive and far-reaching solutions,” he
said.
“Poverty deprives Filipinos of the opportunity to
achieve their full potential to play a vital role in nation-
building. We should immediately advance reforms and
implement measures that would make the poor feel the
gains of the growth of our economy.
“In order to get Filipino families out of poverty,
we must push for drastic reforms on education and
employment generation,” said Angara whose platform is
anchored on education and jobs.
Former senator Jamby Madrigal said the public must
not blame President Aquino if the poverty incidence
remains the same since it has only been three years of his
administration.
It is not that easy to cure the nine years of corruption
under of the Arroyo administration, she added.
Madrigal said efforts to alleviate poverty are not
expected to be felt this early in the Aquino administration.
If re-elected, she will file bills of national significance

to hopefully address problems of the poorest of the poor
now benefiting from government’s conditional cash
transfer, she added.
Former lawmaker Risa Hontiveros said that the
administration should be credited for making a dent on
poverty.
“It’s like a rally cry that we have to be even more
relentless in implementing these programs because we
are on the right track,” she said. It should serve as a wake-
up call to everyone in government, Hontiveros said.
Sen. Franklin Drilon said poverty incidence has
dipped a bit since the Aquino administration took over.
“That only means that we have been successful in
alleviating poverty,” he said.
Drilon said the growth in population must be taken
into consideration when discussing poverty alleviation.
The number of Filipinos has increased significantly
from six to seven years ago, he added.
Drilon said the administration has implemented
several reform measures like the increase in the coverage
of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. or PhilHealth,
as well as the beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer
program of the Department of Social Welfare and
Development.
“Reduction of poverty takes time,” he said.
“But because of the reforms done by this administration,
it has paved the way for substantive poverty reduction
through socio-economic reforms like for example the
4Ps program, the increase in enrolment of the poor in the
PhilHealth program.”
Drilon said the allocation of P25 billion for PhilHealth

this year and another P40 billion for 3.8 million Filipinos
under the National Housing Poverty Reduction Program
were unprecedented.
“That is precisely the point in this campaign,” he said.
“This is a referendum of the performance of this
administration. The past two and a half years, the
Aquino administration has shown its capacity to govern
properly.
“We will continue to address poverty in this country and
we’re confident that under the leadership of the President,
we will succeed. But you don’t lick poverty at the levels that
this administration inherited in two and a half years time.”
-Aurea Calica, Rhodina Villanueva, Jose Rodel Clapano,
Delon Porcalla, Marvin Sy
-o0o-
Group to bets: Prioritize nutrition

By Ellalyn B. De Vera
Manila Bulletin | Published: April 28, 2013
Manila, Philippines --- Candidates in the 2013

midterm elections should focus and debate on how they
can improve the incidence of undernourishment or
chronic hunger in the country, food advocates urged on
Saturday.
National Food Coalition (NFC) convenor Aurea
Miclat-Teves cited that in the country, one in every six
Filipinos are experiencing hunger every day.
There are 870 million people in the world who do not
have enough to eat. Citing an infographic of Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations

(UN), she stressed that one in every eight individuals
goes to sleep hungry every day.
She added that FAO’s estimate is still conservative,
considering the third quarter findings of the Social
Weather Stations last year, showing that 21 percent or
an estimated 4.3 million households or one in every five
persons experienced “having nothing to eat in the last
three months.”
“At the rate this election campaign is going, we have
yet to hear concrete proposals from the candidates in
addressing the hunger problem,” Teves said.
Citing data from FAO, the NFC said that among
the countries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines and
Cambodia are tied at 2nd place with 17 percent prevalence
of undernourishment.
million undernourished persons, while Cambodia has
two million.
Lao People’s Democratic Republic has the highest
prevalence of undernourishment in the region with 28
percent or two million individuals. Indonesia, while having
only nine percent prevalence of undernourishment, has
the highest number of undernourished citizens in the
region, with 21 million.
-o0o-
٠429
٠431
Annex II.
Voluntary Guidelines
on the Responsible Governance
of Tenure of Land,
Fisheries and Forests
Annex II - Voluntary Guidelines ٠433
Photo: Florian Kopp
Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance

of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests
A new tool for Governments and Civil Society
Organisations to address land issues
Why are the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible

Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests
important?

After having been the source of livelihood of most
of the earth’s population for thousands of years, land
and other natural resources have become objects of
speculation, appropriation and expectations for profit of
elites, international companies and private equity funds,
state funds and companies. It is estimated that up to 80
million hectares have been the object of transboundary
land transfers in the last few years, where the envisioned
land use is agriculture, of which 60 million are located
in Africa (http://landportal.info/landmatrix/ media/img/
analytical-report.pdf).
Often these actors do not consider the interests of local
people in their decision making. Therefore mechanisms
are required that give weight to local interests. The
Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance
of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests (VG on Land)

determine in detail why and how such mechanisms
should be established, how laws and public institutions
should consider land and natural resource rights. They
also specify the responsibilities of governments, donors,
international organizations and others.
It is estimated that on a global level 525 million

peasant families depend on land as their source of
livelihood, for farming, livestock keeping, fishing and
collecting forest products. These people are most
vulnerable to losing their land to investors. Many of them
have no written land rights or documented land titles, but
live under customary law.
In Africa often land is given to families verbally
by traditional chiefs. In many places land and forests
are used under collective ownership. Tenure rights can
be shared or be overlapping. Nutrition and survival
of the family, but also cultural, traditional, religious
and historical meanings of land and belonging plays a
central role here. 75 percent of the world’s population
suffering from hunger and malnourishment live in rural
areas. Land grabbing increases rural poverty and hunger.
The VG on Land can be a helpful tool to prevent land
misappropriation and to defend land rights and the poor’s
access to natural resources.
What are the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible
Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests?
The VG on Land have been elaborated as a response

to the mentioned threats and to specify the Voluntary
Guidelines on the Right to Food, which were adopted
by the FAO in 2004, and determine in chapter 8 the
importance of access to land for the realization of
the right to food. The international legally binding
document which is the basis for both guidelines is
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights adopted by the General Assembly of the
United Nations in 1966 (see: http://www2.ohchr.org/
english/law/cescr.htm).
The VG on Land have been approved by the
Committee on World Food Security (CFS) on May 11,
2012 after a three years process of regional consultations
with governments, civil society and the private sector.
The CFS is an intergovernmental body established in
1974 to serve as a forum of the United Nations System.
In 2009 the members of CFS have agreed on a wide-
ranging reform that aims to make CFS the foremost
inclusive international and intergovernmental platform
dealing with food security and nutrition. The potential
for civil society participation in CFS decision making is
significant (see: www.fao.org/cfs/en/).
In light of the growing “land grabbing” and
the predominance of rather weak global regulation
standards, such us the much criticized World Bank
Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment (RAI),
representatives of smallholder producers, fisherfolk,
pastoralists, indigenous people, urban poor, migrants,

agricultural workers and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) have strongly supported the development
and negotiations of the VG on Land. Despite of some
shortfalls in the final document, civil society stakeholders
have welcomed the VG on Land and are now advocating
for its implementation (see the Joint political statement on
the VG on Land of civil society organizations which have
actively participated in the process of developing these
Guidelines under www.csm4cfs.org/policy_working_
groups-6/land_ tenure-6/).
The VG on Land are voluntary standards, but this
does not mean that they are toothless. The VG on Land
refer to existing standards of international law, such as
the participation of affected parties, the principle of non-
discrimination, the access to legal examination, human
dignity, equity and justice, gender equality, transparency
and accountability (see paragraph 3B).
Due to the urgency of the issue it is useful to
have a concrete and applicable instrument ready
to use now. The alternative would have been going
through the long process of consensus reaching for an
internationally binding agreement based on the least
common denominator. The VG on Land are directed
towards States as well as non-state actors such as
private companies, NGOs and civil society in general.
Within contexts where national laws and regulations
on land, fisheries and forests are already strong and
further developed, but not sufficiently implemented,
the VG on Land can serve as a tool to advocate for
better implementation. Where limitations of the
national law and administration are obvious, the VG

on Land can serve as a tool to be used in the dialogue
between governments and civil society stakeholders
anew.
Within fragile contexts as well as under authoritarian
regimes and conflictive environment with high risks for
civil society engagement, the VG on Land might not
be the first instrument to work with. However, specific
paragraphs could serve as tools to open a constructive
dialogue. Further, international actors are challenged to
comply with the VG on Land and can take up the issue in
bilateral cooperation.
Key messages of the VG on Land
Principles
The VG on Land contain principles for States and non-

state actors, including business enterprises. According to
paragraph 3A, States should
•• recognize and respect all legitimate tenure rights
and the people holding theses rights (even if there
are no written documents);
•• safeguard legitimate tenure rights against the loss
of these rights (e.g. by forced evictions);
•• promote and facilitate the enjoyment of legitimate
tenure rights (e.g. by providing services);
•• provide access to justice to resolve disputes over
tenure rights;
•• prevent tenure disputes, violent conflicts and
corruption.
Recognition of existing tenure rights
The VG on Land protect existing individual and

collective tenure rights, even if they are not officially
recorded: “Where States intend to recognize or allocate
tenure rights, they should first identify all existing tenure
rights and right holders, whether recorded or not…”
(paragraph 7.3).
Customary and informal tenure
The VG on Land provide many recommendations

for customary tenure, which is declared to be valuable
and is to be protected by the States. Specific attention
is also given to indigenous communities and their rights.
These recommendations are useful when strengthening
the customary and informal tenure which is the common
tenure system in most African and many Asian and Latin-
American countries, with individual and/or collective
ownership:
•• “States and non-state actors should acknowledge
that land, fisheries and forests have social, cultural,
spiritual, economic, environmental and political
value… (paragraph 9.1);
•• States should provide appropriate recognition
and protection of the legitimate tenure rights of
indigenous people and other communities with
customary tenure systems… (paragraph 9.4);
•• communities with customary tenure systems
should not be forcibly evicted from such ancestral
lands. (paragraph 9.5);
•• …There should be full and effective participation

of all members or representatives of affected
communities… when developing policies and laws
related to tenure systems of indigenous people
and other communities with customary tenure.
(paragraph 9.7);
•• States should protect…communities with
customary tenure systems against the unauthorized
use of their land, fisheries and forests... (paragraph
9.8);
•• States should promote policies and laws to provide
recognition to such informal tenure. (paragraph
10.1)”.
Land transfers and investment in land
The VG on Land acknowledge that land and resources

are sold and leased. They also recognize the importance
of responsible public and private investments for food
security, but point to the necessity to regulate land
markets in order to avoid negative effects of land transfers
and transfers of fish resources and forest rights. They
ask for “…fair and transparent sale and lease markets
(paragraph 11.1)”, with objectives such as “…to promote
participation under equal conditions…for mutually
beneficial transfers;… increase participation by the
poor. States should take measures to prevent undesirable
impacts on local communities….that may arise from…
land speculation, land concentration and the abuse of
customary forms of tenure…States…should recognize
that values...are not always served well by unregulated
markets. (paragraph 11.2)” Possible risks and threats of

unregulated land markets are clearly spelled out.
The following paragraphs include some proposals
how States should strengthen the role of the poor:
•• “…States should simplify administrative procedures
in order to avoid discouragement of market
participation by the poor and most vulnerable.
(paragraph 11.3);
•• States should establish appropriate and reliable
recording systems, such as land registers…to
increase tenure security… (paragraph 11.5);
•• States should …protect the tenure rights of
smallscale producers (paragraph 11.8);
•• …States should support investments by
smallholders as well as…smallholder-sensitive
investments. (paragraph 12.3);
Responsible investments should do no harm, safeguard

against dispossession…and environmental damage…
(paragraph 12.4);
What is tenure?
This has not been defined by the CFS. But the

FAO has some very good definitions: Tenure is the
relationship, whether defined legally or customarily,
among people with respect to land (including associated
buildings and other structures), fisheries, forests and
other natural resources. The rules of tenure define how
access is granted to use and have control over these
resources, as well as associated responsibilities and
restraints. They determine who can use which resources,
for how long, and under which conditions. Tenure
systems may be based on written policies and laws, as
well as on unwritten customs and practices. Tenure
rights may be held by individuals, families, indigenous
peoples and other communities, associations and other
corporate bodies, and by States and their various bodies.
Within a country a wide range of tenure rights may exist,
including ownership rights, lease rights and use rights,
including subsidiary tenure rights.
Source: FAO, Land Tenure and Rural Development,
in Land Tenure Studies 3, Rome, 2002, www.fao.org/
DOCREP/005/Y4307E/y4307e00.htm#Contents
Photo: Christoph Puschner
•• States should…provide transparent rules on the

scale, scope and nature of allowable transactions
in tenure rights… (paragraph 12.5);
•• States should provide safeguards to protect
legitimate tenure rights, livelihoods, food security
and the environment from risks that could arise
from large-.scale transactions in tenure rights…
(paragraph 12.6)”.
The VG on Land also provide recommendations

on the monitoring of large-scale investment and its
impact, corrective measures, ensuring participation
in negotiations etc. Rights and obligations of States
towards affected indigenous communities like Free
Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) are stressed (12.7). For
all other affected communities the VG on Land refer to
“…principles of consultation and participation of these
Guidelines…” (various paragraphs Chapter 12) as well
as appropriate participation within monitoring and
examination mechanisms (12.14).
Land reform: restitution and redistribution
Land reforms are explicitly mentioned in two chapters of

the VG on Land. In case of the loss of legitimate tenure rights
the restitution of the original parcels or fair compensation
should be applied (chapter 14). In order to improve the broad
and equitable access to land and to reduce high ownership
concentration with related rural poverty, redistributive land
reforms should be considered (chapter 15).
Land reform processes must be transparent and
participatory. Beneficiaries should be clearly defined and
supported with necessary measures such as access to credit,
inputs, markets, technical assistance etc. People should have
access to legal assistance, if necessary. It is important that
beneficiaries should be selected through fair and transparent
processes, preventing that “friends” of the authorities are
favoured. Beneficiaries should receive protected and officially
recorded tenure rights and it should be avoided that they lose
their land if they don’t comply with expectations.
Expropriation and compensation
The loss of tenure rights in favour of large-scale

agricultural production, mining and exploitation of natural
and mineral resources, urbanization and industrialization is
frequent in most countries. Often affected people are evicted,
lose their livelihoods and become vulnerable. The guidelines
address this issue in chapter 16, spelling out that
“…States should expropriate only where rights to land,
fisheries and forests are required for a public purpose. States
should clearly define the concept of public purpose in law….
They should respect all legitimate tenure right holders…,
by…promptly providing just compensation… (paragraph
16.1)”. The VG on Land recall the right of affected people to
be informed and consulted (paragraph 16.2).
Evictions and relocations have to be consulted with
the affected population, alternatives have to be examined,
transparency and prompt compensation secured, all under
the condition of consistency with the States’ obligations to
respect, protect and fulfill human rights (paragraphs 16.7-
16.9) Nobody should be rendered homeless and vulnerable
to the violation of human rights (paragraph 16.9).
Land and tenure records
The registration of land and tenure rights is

expensive and inaccessible for many smallholders.
Chapter 17 of the VG on Land call for systems to
record individual and collective tenure rights, in
socio-culturally appropriate ways, which also consider
community tenure traditions.
The land records should be accessible to everyone,

including women, poor and vulnerable groups (paragraph
17.3). Unbureaucratic procedures with low costs are
recommended (paragraph 17.4). Records can increase
tenure security and identify overlapping rights which
may lead to conflicts.
Disputes over tenure rights
Land and resource conflicts are frequent and

increasing with population growth, migration, climate
change and land grabbing. The VG on Land dedicated
chapter 21 to the national level of resolve, calling for
“States … to provide access through impartia … bodies
to timely, affordable and effective means of resolving
disputes over tenure rights, including alternative means
of resolving such conflicts (paragraph 21.1)…. States
should strive to provide legal assistance to vulnerable
and marginalized groups to ensure for all safe access to
justice without discrimination (paragraph 21.6)”. Within
Chapter 22 also transboundary matters with regard to
disputes and resolution mechanisms are taken up.
Not clearly defined are disputes over land where
international stakeholders are directly or indirectly involved.
Also dispute regulation within conflict situations and under
presence of armed groups is not explicitly mentioned.
Crosscutting issues
Two main crosscutting issues are the rights of

women and the prevention of corruption. The VG
on Land highlight in different chapters the need

to realize the rights of women and girls in land
and resource issues. Women’s tenure rights are not
always compatible with traditional customary rights.
In some countries, for example, widows are evicted
from the family’s house and land after the death of
the husband. The VG on Land explicitly spell out
the need to consider women’s and girls’ rights in all
land rights aspects. In different chapters the VG on
Land address the prevention of corruption in the
different processes related to land, by participation,
consultation and empowerment of communities, as
well as other means.
How can civil society organizations make use of the

Voluntary Guidelines?
The VG on Land can serve as an important tool

box for lobby and advocacy activities on just and
transparent policies for land rights and the poor’s access
to resources. Where rights and responsibilities are not
fulfilled and rights are not respected, the VG on Land
might seem to be a rather weak instrument. However
as the VG on Land refer to International Agreements,
Commitments and Obligations, they might also under
non-supportive environments serve as a new tool
to refresh the dialogue on the shortcomings and to
lobby for the fulfillment of national and international
obligations. Various paragraphs call for the obligation
of the State to provide transparency and to prevent
corruption. In others the right of communities or their
representatives to participate in processes to elaborate

land and tenure laws and polices is highlighted.
Civil society organizations in the South and in the
North can use the VG on Land to examine and monitor
land transfers. The VG on Land provide a lot of ideas how
secure land rights and the poor’s access to resources can
be established. Civil society organizations can use them in
trainings on land grabbing and tenure rights. The VG on
Land can be used when negotiating with investors or with
government representatives such as district or provincial
administrations or land authorities.
Civil society organizations can use the VG on
Land in public hearings and meetings with politicians
and private companies to point out shortcomings and
injustice, in cases of unfair land acquisitions and land
grabbing, when land deals are intransparent, when
communities suffer from land concentration in the
hands of a small elite etc.
The VG on Land can be used in media such as
newspapers, internet, radio and TV when current land
issues and conflicts are taken to the public.
They can also be used in public interest litigation,
using the principle of non-discrimination and the right
to access to legal examination as standards based on
international law to bring cases of evictions, unjust land
transfers and others to court.
Finally they can be used in awareness building
campaigns with local communities on the rights
of women and girls or when the responsibilities of
traditional authority in customary tenure systems are
analyzed.
Who will continue to work on the issue?
The States are responsible for the implementation of

the VG on Land (paragraph 26.1). Civil Society should
monitor this obligation.
NGOs in different parts of the planet working on land
rights and the poor’s access to resources need to cooperate
through regional networking and joint lobbying.
MISEREOR and Bread for the World - Protestant
Development Service are lobbying for implementation
at the German and international level and encourage
partner organizations to lobby for the implementation of
the VG on Land in their areas of action.
Further information
If you have any questions on the Voluntary Guidelines on

the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and
Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VG on Land)
or the Voluntary Guidelines on the Right to Food please contact:
•• Carolin Callenius (Bread for the World - Protestant
Development Service) : carolin.callenius@brot-
fuer-die-welt.de
•• Alicia Kolmans (MISEREOR): alicia.kolmans@
misereor.de
The full text of the guidelines can be downloaded
under www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ nr/land_
tenure/pdf/VG_Final_May_2012.pdf.
More information on the VG on Land and their
background is given on the following pages: www. fao.
org/nr/tenure/voluntary-guidelines/en/.
Information on the Committee on World Food

Security on www.fao.org/cfs/en/.
Information on the Civil Society Mechanism of the
CFS and Land Tenure on www.csm4cfs.org/ policy_
working_groups-6/land_tenure-6/.
FIAN is the international NGO lobbying for the
implementation of the right to food, giving special
emphasis to the land issue (www.fian.org/programs- and-
campaigns/access-to-land).
The NGO GRAIN provides updated information on
land grabbing (www.farmlandgrab.org).
A detailed study on land rights published by the
International Land Coalition is found under www.
landcoalition.org/cpl/CPL-synthesis-report.
The Land Matrix Project has a lot of useful
information on land grabbing. Their database shows
the dimension in the different countries and contains
documents to the respective cases (http://landportal.
info/landmatrix). There will be a collection of
national treaties, laws and regulations (see example
here: http://landportal. info/area/africa/ east-africa/
kenya%20).
A collection of relevant studies, briefing and policy
papers on land rights, land conflicts and natural resource
management can be found on the English website of the
Working Group Peace&Development/FriEnt (www.
frient.de/index.php?id=56&L=1).
Published by Bread for the World - Protestant
Development Service, Protestant Agency for Diaconia
and Development, Caroline-Michaelis-Strase 1, D-10115
Berlin, Germany,
Phone: +49 30 65211 0, E-Mail: info@brot-fuer-die-

welt.de,
www.brot-fuer-die-welt.de
Bischofliches Hilfswerk MISEREOR e.V.,
Mozartstrase 9,
D-52064 Aachen, Germany, Phone: +49 241 442 0,
E-Mail: info@misereor.de, www.misereor.de
Author Erwin Geuder-Jilg
Editorial Staff Carolin Callenius, Jorg Jenrich, Alicia
Kolmans, Caroline Kruckow, Martin Remppis
Responsible Thomas Sandner
Layout Jorg Jenrich
Art.Nr. 129 501 410 January 2013

٠451

Pagkain Sapat Dapat - A Collective Action Strategy Towards The Development of A National Food Framework Law in The Philippines

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Pagkain Sapat Dapat - A Collective Action Strategy Towards The Development of A National Food Framework Law in The Philippines

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PAGKAIN

A Collective Action Strategy

National Food Coalition

Published by the National Food Coalition

Copyright of Pagkain Sapat Dapat @ 2013 NFC

All rights reserved.

Cover Artwork: Erick Palo and Mark Russel Palo

Printed in the Philippines

I nterest in participation by the rural poor

Finally, it is with gratitude that I would like to thank

A Collective Action Strategy

A Collective Action Strategy towards the

The Need for a Legal Framework

The Philippine Constitution does not explicitly

National Food Coalition

Various national social movements and non-

have the full and active participation of relevant

The NFC held its first national conference last February

The conference participants approved what should be

Coalition members have already employed collective-

Key documents that have been translated include the

Building public accountability

During the conference, the NFC published a

A former senator seeking to return to the Senate

(Declaration of the First National Conference

M alaya kaming nagtipon ngayon – kaming galing

achieved in promoting land and fishery rights, defending

(Meanwhile, we shall fight for structural changes in society,

National Food Coalition Membership

National Food Coalition

NFC Member Organizations

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM)

Agraryang Reporma Samahang Kababaihan (ARSK)

Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearance

Highlander Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Multi-Purpose

Proceedings of the National Conference

“PAGKAIN SAPAT DAPAT”

Sulo Riviera Hotel, Diliman, Quezon City

In behalf of the National Food Coalition composed of more

malnutrition. Discussions are left wanting because they fail to

Video Presentation: Chicken ala Carte

Our conference comes at a very opportune time.

So what is the food situation? This is graphically

Looking further into the SWS reports from 1998 to

Food, like air and water, is a basic human entitlement

The Legal Framework

An assessment of the Philippine Legal framework,

incorporate human rights obligations arising from

National Food Policy

Before any policy is crafted, the government must

they may not directly contribute to alleviating

By Mr. Martin Remppis

1. Mr. Martin Remppis opened the discussion on his

Mr. Martin Remppis

5. On the recent debate on the Access to Resources

Recommendations formed the platform Coalition for

Dr. Ofreneo: Hunger is a rural phenomenon

Patrick Torres: Can we cite government’s

Flavio Valente (standing right) discussing the case of Brazil.

By Flavio Luiz Schieck Valente MD, MPH

Mr. Valente stated his presentation with a brief

1. During Brazil’s Colonial period (1500 – 1822) the

African slaves or of slave descent; the concentration