Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has reiterated his call to address the issue of stunting among Filipino children, emphasizing the importance of early intervention to prevent more serious health problems in the future.
Cayetano raised this point during the Senate deliberation on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on November 19, 2024.
"Kung stunted ang bata, you can have all the scholarships, interventions for welfare, and jobs, pero dahil apektado na, susceptible na sila sa mga sakit," the senator said.
According to Cayetano, addressing stunting early is crucial because ignoring it now will only lead to bigger challenges for the government later.
"The more malnourished the children are now, sila ang may sakit sa future so sila ang mangangailangan ng MAIFIP (Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients), AICS (Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation), PhilHealth, etc.," he said.
"Marami sa stunted na bata ang magiging future PWDs. The more that we take care of the stunting now, the less we have to spend on the interventions later on," he added.
Cayetano also asked the DSWD about its programs to combat stunting, citing a study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) that found the department's P5.2 billion feeding program budget had minimal impact on children's health.
"May finding ang PIDS na hindi significant ang impact dahil it's only one fortified meal for no less than one hundred twenty days a year, at mababa rin ang cost na fifteen pesos," the senator said.
He challenged the DSWD to conduct in-depth studies in areas with high stunting rates and urged the government to implement stronger policies and laws to address the issue.
"If there are certain areas that you can have a dry run or a pilot testing and then it works, then none of us can debate with it," he said.
"Challenge all of us sa Congress to come up with better laws and policies to prevent stunting," he added.
Panawagan ni Cayetano kontra stunting: 'Prevention is better than cure'
Patuloy ang panawagan ni Senador Alan Peter Cayetano na bigyang solusyon ang problema ng stunting o pagkabansot ng kabataan sa bansa upang maiwasan ang mas malalaking suliranin sa kalusugan sa hinaharap.
Binigyang diin ito ni Cayetano sa naganap na deliberasyon ng proposed budget ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) para sa taong 2025 nitong November 19, 2024, kasama ang sponsor ng panukala na si Senador Imee Marcos.
"Kung stunted ang bata, you can have all the scholarships, interventions for welfare, and jobs, pero dahil apektado na, susceptible na sila sa mga sakit," wika ng senador.
Ayon kay Cayetano, "prevention is better than cure" dahil magiging mas malaking hamon sa hinaharap kung hindi tutugunan nang maaga ng pamahalaan ang problema ng stunting.
"The more malnourished the children are now, sila ang may sakit sa future so sila ang mangangailangan ng MAIFIP (Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients), AICS (Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation), PhilHealth, etc.," wika niya.
"Marami sa stunted na bata ang magiging future PWDs. The more that we take care of the stunting now, the less we have to spend on the interventions later on," dagdag niya.
Sa pagtatanong ng senador sa DSWD tungkol sa mga programa nito para sa stunting, binanggit nito ang pag-aaral ng Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) na nagsasabing ang P5.2 billion na budget nito para sa feeding program ay walang malaking kontribusyon sa kalusugan ng mga kabataan.
"May finding ang PIDS na hindi significant ang impact dahil it's only one fortified meal for no less than one hundred twenty days a year, at mababa rin ang cost na fifteen pesos," wika niya.
Hamon ni Cayetano sa DSWD, magsagawa ng masusing pag-aaral sa mga lugar kung saan mataas ang bilang ng mga stunted na bata at hikayatin ang pamahalaan na magpatupad ng mga polisiya at batas na tututok sa paglutas sa problemang ito.
"If there are certain areas that you can have a dry run or a pilot testing and then it works, then none of us can debate with it," wika niya.
"Challenge all of us sa Congress to come up with better laws and policies to prevent stunting," dagdag niya.
