This is with regard to the noodles scam the Department of Education has been accused of.

The millions of pesos spent by the government through the DepEd to buy noodles for its so-called Food for the School program, which aims to give proper nutrition to schoolchildren, is an artificial and stop-gap measure to mask the real problem of a starving nation.

In the first place, many people question the true nutritional value of instant noodles, including the more than 19 million packs that were already distributed by the DepEd. Despite the aggressive marketing of instant noodles, these products are believed to actually contain far less nutrition than their manufacturers claim. Natural food with high nutritional value remains the best source of proper nutrition. Sadly though, millions of Filipinos do not earn enough to buy the proper food.

Instead of providing proper nutrition, the DepEd?s noodles gave the children and their families false hopes and deceived them into believing that the government is actually doing something for the children. What a shame!

In hindsight, the more than P400 million spent to purchase a few measly meals can never give more than 19 million public school children brighter minds but will probably only fatten the pockets of corrupt officials involved in the transaction.

If the government has sincere intentions of helping impoverished schoolchildren achieve better nutrition for better minds, it should look into the real circumstances that deprive these children of a balanced and healthful diet. It is very likely that these children come from families who live a hand-to-mouth existence and whose parents are jobless or underemployed. Hence, the only means to address undernourishment in schoolchildren is to provide their families jobs with livable income and access to basic social services.

The DepEd should rethink its feeding program. Instead of spending hundreds of millions for what appears now to be a shameful crime, it should focus on addressing the root causes of nutrition deficiency among public school children.

Lastly, the Council for Health and Development (CHD) challenges this country?s lawmakers to seriously look into this scandalous project that is a threat to our children?s future.

?ELEANOR A. JARA, M.D.,
executive director,
Council for Health and Development (CHD),
chdmancom@gmail.com