Bataan Rep. Roman raises immediate concern for stunted, malnourished children in Region VI

BATAAN -  Representative Geraldine Roman of Bataan's 1st District has urged relevant government agencies to address the issue of stunted and malnourished children in the Western Visayas region following a recent survey that revealed a worrisome figure.

“Ang pagiging bansot o stunted ay hindi po natin dapat ipinagsasalawalang-bahala lamang. Lalo na kung dumarami at tumataas ang datos ng mga batang kabilang dito. Mariin po natin itong bibigyang pansin sa Kongreso,” she said, citing the report of the Region VI-National Nutrition Council which examined children aged 8 to 58 months.

Rep. Geraldine Roman

Roman said based on the Ranking of Provinces-Prevalence of Stunting, it was found that Antique has the highest number of children whose height is not appropriate for their age. She said Antique registered a prevalence rate of 9.83% stunted children, followed by Negros Occidental with 7.34%, Iloilo with 5.37%, Aklan with 4.87%, Guimaras with 4.84%, and Capiz with 4.49%.

“Karamihan sa mga batang ito ay talaga namang payat at maliliit. Ito rin ang pagsisimula ng bullying. Nabu-bully ang mga batang ito ng kanilang mga kaklase o kalaro sa community. So sa murang edad, apektado na sila agad ng inequality, and I strongly disagree on that,” said Roman, who chairs of the Women And Gender Equality Committee of the House of Representatives.

In the Philippines, 1 in 3 Filipino children below 5 years of age is malnourished due to extreme poverty and lack of basic health education in parents. The Republic Act (RA) No. 11037 s2018, known as the “Masustansyang Pagkain para sa Batang Pilipino Act” institutionalized the national feeding program and created a five-year plan to fully implement the school-based feeding program.

Roman, who is behind House Bill 5601, also known as Magna Carta for Agricultural Workers and Revitalized Agricultural Value Chain of 2022, said: “Kaya po mariin din nating isinusulong through my House Bill 5601 also known as Magna Carta for Agricultural Workers and Revitalized Agricultural Value Chain of 2022, ang farm-to-market roadmap. Ito po ay mabisang paraang upang makarating agad ang produkto at serbisyong pang-agrikultura sa mga Kadiwa stores or better, diretso sa pamilyang Pilipino.” (Mindanao Examiner)