Lito Lapid wants junk food, sugary drinks banned in public, private schools

Senator Lito Lapid is seeking to prohibit junk food and sugary drinks inside and within 100 meters from the perimeter of public and private elementary and high schools.

This is consistent with the Health Food and Beverage Choices program which he proposed in Senate Bill 1231.

In his explanatory note, Lapid said the measure seeks to promote healthy diet and positive eating behaviors and provide healthy eating environments to learners, teaching, and non-teaching personnel in educational institutions.

"Healthy eating plays an important role in learning and cognitive development. Studies show that children who do not get adequate nutrients experience more difficulty in learning from school leading to lower academic test scores, or worse, tend to drop out of school," he said.

"Ensuring the availability of food that are high in nutritional content will not only promote better health but also better learning," he added.

The program does not only seek to improve the health and well-being of students but also to develop healthy habits that will serve them well into their adult lives, he stated.

The legislator cited a UNICEF Philippines report in 2014 which showed that 95 Filipino children die from malnutrition every day.

He also noted the World Bank report in 2021 which stated that there had been no improvements in the prevalence of malnutrition in the Philippines for the past 30 years.

Lapid likewise noted that the Philippines ranked fifth among countries in the East Asia and Pacific region with the highest prevalence of stunting.

With this, Lapid said the World Health Organization promotes prohibition against junk food and other unhealthy food in schools to promote healthier diets for children.

"Such prohibition in and near schools would minimize if not totally eliminate, the incidence of malnutrition, child obesity, and other health problems," he said.

He further emphasized the World Bank's position in 2013 that every dollar invested in nutrition has the potential of yielding a $44 return.

Under proposed in SB 1231, the Health Food and Beverage Choices program seeks to introduce a system of categorizing locally available food and drinks in accordance with the geographical, cultural, and religious orientations; provide guidance in evaluating and categorizing food and drinks; and provide guidance in the selling and marketing of food and beverages, including the purchasing of food for school feeding.

According to SB 1231, any food with saturated fat of more than five grams or more than one teaspoon per serving; trans fat; sugar or total carbohydrate of more than 20 grams per serving; sodium of more than 200 milligram shall be considered as junk food.

Meanwhile, sugary drink is defined as any liquid substance made for drinking that is carbon-based or with carbon dioxide gas and categorized as soft drinks or sugar-based synthetic or artificially flavored juices.

Owners or operators of any canteen, eatery, restaurant or store that sell junk food inside the premises or within 100 meters from the perimeter of any public or private elementary or high school will face a fine ranging from P25,000 to P100,000 or six to twelve months imprisonment.—AOL, GMA News