Courtesy: Office of Rep. Brian Poe
FPJ Panday Bayanihan Partylist Rep. Brian Poe urged his fellow lawmakers to pass a bill establishing a mechanism to reduce the number of people experiencing “involuntary hunger” in the country.
In his sponsorship speech for House Bill No. 2196, or the Food Waste Reduction Act, Poe appealed to address what he called a national “moral outrage” while millions of Filipinos continue to experience involuntary hunger despite the vast amount of edible food that is thrown away daily.
“I stand before you to present a measure rooted not just in policy, but in principle and empathy,” Poe said.
Poe cited the latest data from the Social Weather Stations, which shows that approximately one in five Filipino families experience involuntary hunger.
“We are faced with a shameful paradox: perfectly edible food is discarded daily while approximately one in five Filipino families still endure the pain of involuntary hunger,” he said. “We must correct this moral outrage where the hungry walk past overflowing dumpsters.”
Under the bill, a national system will be established that will require food manufacturers, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, and culinary schools to segregate their edible surplus and donate it to accredited food banks.
Donated food will undergo inspection by a local health official before being distributed to food banks. The Department of Social Welfare and Development and the local government unit (LGU) must also coordinate before distribution.
The bill also mandates LGUs to recycle inedible food waste and coordinate with waste management enterprises to turn it into fertilizer or compost—a step to reduce landfill waste and support the agricultural sector.
A key provision of the bill is the provision of liability protection to certified food donors once their surplus food has been passed on to accredited food banks.
According to lawmakers supporting Poe’s bill, it aims to address one of the main reasons why businesses hesitate to donate: the fear of potential liability.
Poe emphasized the importance of this provision, which he said “removes the main obstacle” preventing surplus food from reaching communities most in need.
For ‘inedible food waste’, the bill stipulates that LGUs coordinate with waste management partnerships to turn them into agricultural inputs.
He emphasized that such a method would clean up our community, support the agricultural sector, and contribute greatly to a true circular economy.
According to the lawmaker, the bill is, above all, about the responsible use of national resources, emphasizing that excess food—whether edible or not—can be made useful if properly managed.
“This is not a partisan issue; it is a human issue,” he said.
Poe added that the bill aims to transform surplus food into a means of improving the community, and it can be instrumental in uplifting dignity and community development.
