Lazatin pushes for free breakfast in public schools

• Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2015/10/20/lazatin-pushes-free-breakfast-public-schools-436854
• Tuesday, October 20, 2015

(Sun.Star Pampanga)

ANGELES CITY -- Councilor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. recently filed a resolution expressing the Angeles City Council’s support for House Bill 364, which provides for a free breakfast program for public school children in day care centers, preschools and elementary schools.

House Bill 29 seeks to institutionalize the nation-wide implementation of the free breakfast program being implemented by the Department of Education (DepEd) in selected day care centers and public pre-schools and elementary schools in the country.

“Meron na pong naipatupad na ‘free breakfast program’ ang DepEd, pero ito po ay limited lamang sa mga day care centers at public schools na tinuturing na ‘low performing’ schools at may limited duration lang,” said Lazatin.

“Alam naman po natin na laganap ang malnutrition sa maraming public schools sa buong bansa,” added Lazatin, “Pag naisabatas po ang House Bill 00364, ang free breakfast program ay ipapatupad na sa lahat ng public schools sa bansa at hindi lang sa mga piling paaralan.”

The bill is authored by Cebu City Representative Raul Del Mar.

According to Lazatin, the promotion of public health is one of his main priorities – one of the pillars of his four-point agenda.

Earlier, Lazatin also proposed an ordinance requiring all restaurants and fast-food chain establishments operating within the city to disclose and include the nutritional content information of all food items on their menus.

Lazatin said that he proposed the said ordinance to promote a healthier and more balanced lifestyle and diet among residents of this City.

“Having the nutritional information of various food items clearly visible on the menu allows consumers to be more discerning with the food that they eat,” said Lazatin. “Consumers will have an easier time to distinguish between healthy food items and those that are not.”

If the ordinance is approved, restaurants and fast-food chain establishments that fail to comply with the mandatory disclosure or are proven to have declared false nutritional information will have to pay a fine of P5,000 to P10,000.