Sounding the alarm on a worsening national health emergency, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday filed a measure that aims to halt and eventually prevent child stunting in the Philippines.
Filed on July 10, 2025, the Anti-Stunting Action Plan (ASAP) Council Act of 2025 seeks to establish a high-level council that will formulate and lead a strategic, whole-of-government and whole-of-society action plan to reduce and prevent stunting nationwide.
“Apart from lifelong impacts such as weakened immune systems, reduced brain development, lower academic performance, poor self-esteem, and delayed social development, a high prevalence of stunted children erodes the human potential, productivity and economic growth of countries. Therefore, this national emergency must be addressed ASAP,” Cayetano stated in his bill.
The senator said the measure draws on proven practices such as City of Taguig’s award-winning Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) programs and Singapore’s top-ranking performance in global Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests, which studies link to its strong foundation in early childhood care.
Stunting refers to impaired child growth and development caused by poor nutrition, repeated infections, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation. According to the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), one in four Filipino children under five years old are stunted — a rate higher than the global average and only slightly below the ASEAN average.
Under the proposed measure, the ASAP Council will be created as the lead agency in overseeing the formulation and implementation of a national roadmap on stunting reduction. It will be attached to the Office of the President and chaired by the Secretary of Health, with the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development as co-chairperson.
Members of the Council include the heads of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council, and the Council for the Welfare of Children, along with two NGO representatives with expertise in maternal and child care and nutrition.
The Council is mandated to harmonize existing anti-stunting programs, recommend improvements in policies and implementation, and lead consultations and policy coherence efforts across government agencies to focus on addressing stunting in a holistic and long-term manner.
The bill also mandates the development of a centralized database on stunting to be managed by the DOST-FNRI, in coordination with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The Council will regularly monitor and evaluate key programs, including the Department of Health (DOH)’s First 1,000 Days initiatives, the DSWD’s feeding and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), and the DepEd’s school-based feeding program. It will also recommend minimum standards and financing requirements to improve existing interventions.
“This measure envisions a future where all Filipino children have equal opportunities to grow, learn, and thrive,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano had previously warned against stunting and raised the urgency of addressing it during the 2025 DSWD budget deliberation.
“Marami sa stunted na bata ang magiging future PWDs. The more that we take care of the stunting now, the less we have to spend on the interventions later on,” he said.
