A P40 million comprehensive nutrition program for elementary pupils in Oriental Negros is now being considered seriously by provincial officials.

Sources at the Capitol in Dumaguete City indicated that the program was proposed by Rep. Herminio "Meniong" Teves (3rd district, Oriental Negros) who would like to see it as his legacy.

The proposal is actually an expansion of the program since the provincial government had already instituted a feeding program for the last three years, but would only focus on selected localities.

During a meeting with other local officials from the provincial government, Department of Education, city and municipal mayors last month, Teves pointed out that the low performance of pupils from public schools in the province in evaluation tests is due to poor nutrition.

Teves envisions to feed about 140, 000 pupils from public schools this year with an estimated cost of P40 million.

He said he will secure about P5 million from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and the national government.

Teves also said the DepEd national office is also expected to shell out another P5 million.

Teves also suggested that he and Reps. Jacinto Paras and Emilio Macias II allocate P3 million each for the program.

A similar contribution is also expected from Partylist Rep. Sunny Rose Madamba of the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives, who hails from Oriental Negros.

Teves also suggested that the remaining amount can be taken cared of by the provincial government and the other local government units.*RA

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