Press Release
June 2, 2009

Gordon: 'Text-for-Change' bill to improve health and welfare of pupils

Senator Richard J. Gordon (Ind.) today explained that his proposed "Text-for-Change" measure not only seeks to wipe out backlogs in school infrastructures and enhance learning systems, but also aims to improve the health and welfare of students.

Stressing that students need to be physically healthy and mentally fit in order to grasp and understand their lessons in school, Gordon said there is a need to address the nutrition and health needs of schoolchildren.

"Our pupils not only need quality education but also health and nutrition programs to ensure that they will perform well in school because they are properly nourished and physically fit," he said.

Gordon said that under Senate Bill 2402, an Act creating the Health and Education Acceleration Program (HEAP) Corporation, feeding programs would be established to improve the health and nutrition status of children. Also, there will be a comprehensive medical and dental treatment for the students.

According to the Department of Education (DepEd), toothache, diarrhea, respiratory ailments and soil-transmitted worm infections are prevalent in pre-school and school children, which is the cause of absenteeism and dropping-out of school.

Statistics indicate that for every 100 children who enter grade 1, only 68 reach grade 6, of whom only 48 finish high school, and only 17 enter college.

Based on the position paper submitted by the DepEd to the Senate committee on government corporations and public enterprises, which Gordon chairs, the country's school health profile shows that 21% of schoolchildren are malnourished.

Furthermore, school children aged 6-12 years old suffer from iodine deficiency (11.4%), iron deficiency anemia (37.4%), Vitamin A deficiency (36%), worm infestation (67%), and dental caries (97%).

"Millions of school children are afflicted with preventable and treatable but potentially fatal diseases, making most of them miss out on school days. Worse is that many of them do not eat enough of the right food they need," Gordon said.

The senator added that public schools in the country lack toilet bowls. The country's toilet bowl to student ratio is at 1:151 for grade school pupils and 1:102 for high school students. In the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the ratio is at 1:171 for elementary and 1:250 for secondary students.

Gordon said that these problems can be addressed immediately through the establishment of the HEAP Corporation that will spearhead the rehabilitation and improvement of health and education infrastructures in the country.

He explained that under SB 2402, telecommunications companies would remit a portion of their total revenues arising from local text messaging to the HEAP Corporation..

The fund will be used to rapidly fill up shortages in the public education system as well as upgrade learning facilities. It will also be used to implement a health and nutrition program, such as feeding programs, regular vaccination and dental check-up programs.

"With this text-for-change bill, we can resolve all the problems plaguing our education and health care systems. If we effectively implement this program, in five years' time there would be a big improvement in the quality of education in our country," Gordon said.

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