EXPLANATION OF VOTE
Senate Bill No. 1279 - Pagkaing Pinoy para sa Batang Pinoy Act

Honorable Win Gatchalian, Senator of the Republic, voting YES the measure:

Mr. President, I would just like to commend this body for prioritizing the approval of this impactful and timely bill. If passed into law, the National School Feeding Program created by the Pagkaing Pinoy para sa Batang Pinoy Act would do so much to combat child hunger and malnutrition.

I can personally attest to how powerful the school-based feeding model can be if implemented with vigor and compassion. In the six years since we started our pilot school feeding program in Valenzuela City, the nutrition and health of the hundreds of thousands of student beneficiaries have significantly approved. Our students are full, happy, and performing well in class. Imagine what we can achieve if we implement the same kind of program across the entire country. This is precisely why I filed Senate Bill No. 204, the Nutri-Skwela Act of 2016, one of the bills consolidated into the measure approved by the body today. I sincerely hope that this worthy legislation will be signed into law by the President before the end of the 17th Congress.

Thank you Mr. President.