This is about the “noodles scam” that has spoiled the feeding program of the Department of Education.

The millions of pesos spent by the government to buy overpriced noodles for its so-called Food for the School program (which aims to give proper nutrition to schoolchildren) is an artificial, stop-gap measure to mask the problem that’s eating up 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. Notwithstanding their manufacturers’ aggressive marketing of instant noodles, the product is believed to contain far less nutrition than is actually claimed. Natural food with high nutritional value remains the best sources of proper nutrition. Sadly though, millions of Filipinos do not earn enough to buy adequate food.

Instead of nutrition, the DepEd’s noodles gave children and their families a false sense that the government is actually doing something for the children. It is a deceitful and shameful show.

The more than P400 million spent to purchase a single measly meal will never give more than 19 million public school children brighter minds but will probably only fatten the pockets of the 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