MANILA – Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan proposed tapping the private sector to support funding and expand access for his proposed Libreng Almusal (free breakfast) program, which seeks to address child hunger and improve learning outcomes in public schools.

At a joint Senate hearing on September 11, Pangilinan stressed the importance of providing nutritious meals to students and underscored the need for public-private collaboration to sustain the program.

“Pwede rin sa technical working group mapag-aralan yung corporate social responsibilities ng mga Jollibee, McDonald’s in areas wherein their presence is available, na pwede rin sila part of the effort yung private sector dahil yan naman ang pinakamalalim din ang bulsa,” Pangilinan said.

He added, “Part of it would be private sector–public sector synergy in augmenting the program with their own interventions.”

The hearing was jointly conducted by the Committees on Basic Education, Agriculture, Local Government, and Finance, which are currently studying Pangilinan’s Senate Bill No. 219, or the Libreng Almusal Act. The measure seeks to provide free breakfast meals for kindergarten to senior high school students in public schools.

Pangilinan said the private sector could contribute in various ways, including food donations, logistics, financial sponsorships, and volunteer support.

“Some European countries have this mandate on food being donated to charitable institutions, for example. Maybe the law can allow for private sector participation in terms of providing contributions or donations with corresponding tax deductions,” he said.

“Maybe we can expand that to include private sector donations to the feeding programs as a possible synergy between government, DepEd, and the private sector, particularly the food and beverage industry,” he added.

The senator noted that the program also aims to improve farmers’ and fisherfolk’s income by allocating part of the budget for the direct purchase of local produce under the Sagip Saka Act of 2019, which Pangilinan authored.