(File photo)
MANILA – Senatorial candidate Guillermo Eleazar on Friday vowed to push for a free meal program in public schools.
In a statement, Eleazar this program will require coordination between the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Agriculture (DA), the pilot areas are the poorest provinces in the country.
Should he win a Senate seat, the former national police chief vowed to allocate additional funds for the two agencies to buy agricultural products from local farmers that would be used by the public schools for the free meal program.
“Dalawa ang makikinabang dito. Una ang ating mga mahihirap na kababayan na may problema sa malnutrisyon ng kanilang mga anak at pangalawa ay ang mga lokal na magsasaka kung saan sa bibilhin ng pamahalaan sa kanila ang kanilang mga produkto para gamitin sa programang ito (Two sectors would benefit from this initiative, first our poor countrymen who are having trouble feeding their children, hence the malnutrition, and two, our farmers, as the government will be buying from them their produce to use for this program)," he added.
Citing his experience as a police officer assigned in various provinces, Eleazar said he witnessed how poor students would skip their classes because of poverty while some are forced to work to be able to help their parents make ends meet.
He said poverty is also the reason for the poor performance of the students, especially in poor provinces as they could not concentrate well on their studies because of poor nutrition.
Eleazar said that this also explains the huge learning gap between students in poor provinces and their counterparts in Metro Manila and other urban areas, especially those enrolled in private schools.
“We need to address this problem and I believe this free meal program is one of the ways to narrow the learning gap. Maraming magagaling na estudyante sa public schools pero naapektuhan ang kanilang galing dahil sa kahirapan sa buhay (there a lot of good students in the public schools but their learning comprehension is being affected by their poverty)," he added.
The free meal program, Eleazar said, would also include other health-related programs that include regular dental, eye, and medical check-ups in public schools.
“We need to invest a lot in the children, the youth because they are our future. The government owes to them the best that it could give in ensuring their good health and proper education,” he added. (with Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
