As the country observes Nutrition Month this July, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano renewed his call for stronger government action against child stunting after the latest nutrition data showed the problem had worsened for the first time in a decade.
The renewed call comes after the Department of Science and Technology’s Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) reported on June 17, 2026 that the country’s stunting rate among children under five increased to 25.3 percent in 2025 from 23.6 percent in 2023.
The increase, which marked the first rise in a decade, means that one in every four Filipino children under five is now stunted.
Cayetano said the latest figures reinforce the need to invest more heavily in programs that prevent stunting, arguing that few government interventions deliver greater long-term returns.
“The best return of investment, peso to peso, is in anti-stunting… You can have free and quality education, scholarships, and the best computers, pero ‘pag stunted ang bata, mahirap nang mai-correct iyon,” he said.
Stunting, or impaired growth caused by chronic undernutrition during early childhood, can have lifelong effects on a child’s physical growth, cognitive development, and future productivity.
In July 2025, Cayetano filed Senate Bill No. 416, or the proposed Anti-Stunting Action Plan (ASAP) Council Act as one of his priority measures in the 20th Congress. It seeks to establish a permanent high-level body that will harmonize nutrition programs across government agencies, monitor implementation, and ensure sustained interventions for mothers and young children.
He warned that child stunting carries consequences that extend far beyond childhood and undermine the country’s long-term development.
“A high prevalence of stunted children erodes the human potential, productivity and economic growth of countries. This national emergency must be addressed ASAP,” he stated in the bill.
Along with health experts, Cayetano emphasized that interventions during the first 1,000 days of life are critical to preventing its long-term effects.
“Marami sa stunted na bata ang magiging future Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). The more that we take care of the stunting now, the less we have to spend on the interventions later on,” he said.
Cayetano repeatedly raises the issue in the Senate, arguing that preventing stunting should remain among the government’s highest priorities because its effects are often irreversible.
He called on all concerned agencies to follow a unified national plan and pilot interventions in the most affected provinces, including BARMM (36%), Zamboanga Peninsula (34.6%), Negros Island Region (30.9%), and MIMAROPA (30.3%).
“We need a specific intervention. Choose provinces na higher than 25 percent, y’ung endangered of stunting, and see if mapababa natin ang prevalence,” the Minority Leader said.