Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan filed Senate Bill No. 2380 or the proposed Gulayan sa Barangay at Paaralan Act, aimed at institutionalizing community- and school-based vegetable gardens. The initiative seeks to combat hunger, malnutrition and stunting across the country by providing sustained funding to improve local household food security.
Under the proposed measure, every barangay would be required to designate an area for community farming, while public schools would implement gardens where suitable land is available. Currently relying on administrative orders, the initiative faces potential inconsistencies across different localities and policy changes. Institutionalizing it ensures structured, long-term support managed jointly by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Education.
Pangilinan emphasized the urgency of making local food production a permanent fixtures in communities rather than a temporary effort. “Hindi tama na may mga kabarangay at mag-aaral tayong kumakalam ang sikmura, lalo na’t kung puwede at kaya naman nating magtanim at umani sa sarili nating mga komunidad. Ipinakita na ng programang ito ang tagumpay sa mga barangay at paaralan na nagpatupad nito,” Pangilinan said.
To ensure continuous operation, initial funding for the program will draw from the current budgets of the DA, DILG and DepEd, with succeeding allocations integrated into the annual national budget. This legislative push leverages existing groundwork: DepEd reports active garden interventions in 94% of public schools covering nearly 45,000 sites, while the DILG notes that over 4.3 million households participate in similar community planting initiatives.
Highlighting the collaborative nature of the bill, Pangilinan pointed out how the measure strengthens localized food production and neighborhood unity. “Sa pagsasabatas, paiigtingin natin itong programang isinasabuhay ang bayanihan. Tataniman ng magkakapitbahay mismo ang lupa at espasyo para sa mga community gardens at pagsasaluhan ang mga masustansya at masaganang bunga nito,” he added.
The senator noted that household food insecurity remains a pressing national issue, citing a 2023 DOST-FNRI report that classified 31.4% of Filipino households as moderately to severely food insecure. Pangilinan asserted that sustainable hunger relief must be a cornerstone of national development, remarking that “hindi dapat one-time project ang paglaban sa gutom. Kailangan itong maging tuloy-tuloy, organisado, at bahagi ng ating pambansang programa sa food security.”
Ultimately, the bill frames food accessibility as a core metric of the country’s overall progress. “Walang tunay na pag-unlad kung may mga pamilyang natutulog na gutom at may mga batang hindi lumalaki nang malusog dahil kulang sa pagkain. Ang tunay na sukatan ng tagumpay ay kung tayong lahat ay may access sa masustansya at abot-kayang presyo ng pagkain,” Pangilinan said.