MOA with DSWD for supplementary feeding program up for review

THE implementation of the 8th cycle of the supplementary feeding program in Cagayan de Oro is in the offing.

Vice Mayor Raineir Joaquin V. Uy referred to the City Council committee on social services chaired by Councilor Ruben R. Daba for appropriate action the proposed ordinance authorizing Mayor Oscar Moreno to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office-10 (DSWD-10) for the purpose.

The proposed MOA cites the results of the 8th National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), which revealed that 19.9-percent, 30.3-percent and 7.9-percent of children zero to five years old are underweight, stunted and wasted, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Food and Nutrient Intake results of the 7th National Nutrition Survey showed that about 50-percent of pre-school and school-aged children have inadequate protein intake. More than 70-percent of Filipinos across population groups lack iron, Vitamin A, calcium and Vitamin C in their daily diet, The Power learned.

The feeding program is part of the DSWD’s contribution to the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) program of the government.

PROVISIONS

The MOA provides that the DSWD shall manage and coordinate the regional implementation of the supplementary feeding program. It shall designate a focal person to provide guidance and technical assistance to the social welfare and development officers, day care workers, and others in the implementation of the program.

For its part, the city government shall submit a project proposal and master list of beneficiaries as the basis for funding allocation; designate a focal person and purchase goods in accordance with existing budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations.

It shall, likewise, immediately implement the program without unreasonable delay upon receipt of funds and if deemed necessary, provide augmentation in the implementation of the feeding program at the city and barangay level through cash or in kind if they catered beyond the target number of beneficiaries and other activities, among others.

The implementation of the supplemental feeding program is in line with provisions of the Philippine Constitution, the Millennium Development Goal, Child and Youth Welfare Code, and other such laws.