TANAY, RIZAL — Around 3,000 children aged 3 to 5 in three pilot areas in the Philippines will receive daily rations of the fortified nutribun as the first beneficiaries of a three-month feeding program to counter malnutrition.

Sen. Imee Marcos on Sunday distributed nutribuns to children and their families during the program's launch here.

Over 120 days, 1,000 needy children in Tanay will be given nutribuns from the municipal health and social welfare offices through the community-based barangay nutrition scholars.

LOOK: Sen. Imee Marcos leads distribution of nutribuns to 100 children ages 3-6 in Tanay, Rizal to mark the 105th birth anniversary of her late father, Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Sr. pic.twitter.com/iY0KJsI86Q

— Anjo Bagaoisan (@anjo_bagaoisan) September 11, 2022

Pre-selected beneficiaries in Marcos’s home province of Ilocos Norte and in Cebu are also taking part in the program.

Marcos said the so-called “leveled up” nutribuns, fortified with protein and vitamins A, B1 and C using a variety of vegetables, can help stave off undernourishment especially caused by the pandemic.

Since becoming senator in 2019, she has pushed for reviving the nutribun feeding, a program associated with the regime of her late father Ferdinand Sr.

Marcos said that unlike the nutribuns in the 1970s which came from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the ones to be distributed now are locally sourced and will target younger children over school kids.

• The lowdown on nutribun and its muddled Marcos ties

"Nagbago na kasi profile ng malnutrition sa Pilipinas. Nakita natin na ang talagang matinding pagkukulang ng sustansya ay nasa tinatawag na first 1,000 days. Ibig sabihin, hanggang 3 years old," she said.

“Kapag hindi sapat ang sustansya, talagang hindi lumalaki. Pero mas malala, hindi rin nagde-develop ang kaniyang utak, nagkakaroon ng brain stunting. ‘Wag naman natin gawin sa ating mga anak ‘yan.”

The nutribuns labeled with Marcos’ name, face and tagline come in different flavors, ranging from ube, chocolate, mungo, and cheese.

Marcos added earnings from the movie “Maid in Malacañang” will help finance the feeding program, which, according to her, would benefit local farmers.

Aside from the buns, they also released protein-enriched porridge for younger children, dried powder for disaster relief, and nutritious powdered drinks.

UNDERNOURISHED

Housewife Joan Retes, whose 3 kids will benefit from the nutribun feeding program in Tanay, said there were days they were not able to eat.

“Mahirap po. Wala po kasing trabaho ‘yong asawa ko… Nag-uuling lang po siya.” pic.twitter.com/mRemHW9Yyz

— Anjo Bagaoisan (@anjo_bagaoisan) September 11, 2022

Poor families are hoping the distribution of nutribuns will take the load off worrying where to feed their youngsters.

Joan Retes, a 25-year-old housewife with three children, said there were days they were not able to eat.

"Mahirap po. Wala po kasing trabaho ‘yong asawa ko… Nag-uuling lang po siya,” she said.

In Tanay, the beneficiaries were chosen by their nutrition profile and economic status.

According to the Tanay Municipal Health Office, 457 children in the town were found to be moderately to severely undernourished.

These account for nearly half of the 1,000 beneficiaries in the town’s upland and plain areas.

• SWS survey shows 3.1-M Filipino families experienced hunger in 2022 Q1

During the implementation of the program, weigh-ins will be done every 20 days to check on the progress of the children.

Amor Dulce Rivera, the municipal health officer, said underweight children are often found in largely populated areas.

"Ang local government unit at municipal health office, nagsimula na ang intervention. ‘Di lang sila titimbangin tapos afterwards kaniya-kaniyang kain. It’s more or less, bibigay po kami ng milk, through DOH. And then mag-procure ang munisipyo ng gatas. Ito ang first time na babalik ang nutribun sa Tanay,” she said.

"We’re hoping, through this intervention, mabawasan ang underweight at bansot."

MARCOS SR. BIRTHDAY

The nutribun distribution coincided with Marcos Sr.’s 105th birth anniversary.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the senator's younger brother, visited their father's grave at the Libingan ng mga Bayani with family and supporters.

Imee laid a wreath at her father’s birthplace in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, and also launched the nutribun program there before going to the capital.

She described the family’s commemoration of the patriarch’s first birth anniversary since Marcos Jr. became president as “sad yet joyful” and “sentimental”.

Marcos said the feeding program was more in line with her father’s wishes.

"Eh kasi ‘yong tatay ko, hindi naman mahilig mag-party iyon. Gusto niya, kapag birthday niya, mga project. Kaya naglunsad kami ng legacy project na itinuring na isang kakaibang pagmamana mula sa aking ama at ina,” she said.

During Sunday's distribution program, references were made to show that the nutribun distribution in the 1970s benefited the now-adults in the audience.

She called it her parents’ project, despite acknowledging it came from USAID. Accounts from the period said relief bags of nutribuns from the USAID had been labeled as part of then First Lady Imelda Marcos’s humanitarian project.

The breads distributed by Imee are different from the nutribuns developed by the Department of Science and Technology as the e-nutribun and those made by the private sector as COVID relief.

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