Around ninety (90) local nutrition program coordinators from all over Metro Manila together with the members of the Regional Nutrition Management Group (RNMG) and NNC-NCR official and staff trooped to Valenzuela City on 29 April 2015 for their yearly Learning Visit (Lakbay-Aral). The learning visit is a public information service of the National Nutrition Council-NCR for the local NPCs for them to gain new insights and ideas on how the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition (PPAN) is operationalized at the local level with innovation and good practices on nutrition program management (NPM).
The participants were able to appreciate Valenzuela’s history from the pre-colonial period up to the city as it is known today through a guided tour of the city’s Museum. They were also given a tour of the People’s Park that serves as the city’s main plaza as well as the Legislative and Executive Buildings of the new Valenzuela City Hall.
Medical Nutrition Program Coordinator Dr. Bernadette R. Bordador welcomed the group on behalf of the City Nutrition Action Officer Dr. Jaime Exconde. To highlight the city’s platform on good governance under the leadership of Hon. Mayor Rex Gatchalian, a video presentation on the “The Five Pillars of Good Governance” was shown. Dr. Bordador also shared their city’s innovative nutrition programs and this was followed by an interactive forum.
Regional NPC Milagros Elisa V. Federizo and Nutrition Officer II Theresa A. Rivas together with the officers of the C/DNPC Association of Metro Manila and RNMG members had the chance to formally thank the city government for the warm accommodation accorded to them through a brief interaction with Mayor Rex Gatchalian who took some minutes off from his busy schedule.
The participants also visited Barangay Dalandans 3S Center and the city’s Central Kitchen for their supplementary feeding program. Bgy. Dalandanan Chair and Liga ng mga Barangay President Hon. Ramon L. Encarnacion and Barangay Nutrition Scholar Arsenia R. Balaoro warmly welcomed the participants. Brgy. Captain Encarnacion shared their barangay nutrition programs and projects. He also explained that the barangay is one of the areas with a 3S Center that serves as the city hall annex and houses the barangay hall, police community precinct, health center and multi-purpose hall. He added that the 3S Centers, which stand for “Sentro ng Sama-samang Serbisyo”, are built in strategic areas in the city to decentralize and bring the city’s services closer to the people especially during disasters and emergencies.
Another showcase of the city is the 318-square meter central kitchen where the meals for the K to 6 School Feeding Program are prepared daily. With the help of the “nanay (mother) volunteers”, the facility daily prepares breakfast and lunch for day care children, kinder and Grades 1 to 6 pupils in all day care centers and public elementary schools in the city throughout the school year. The supplementary feeding program is the banner program of the city in partnership with Ateneo Center for Education Development (ACED)’s Blueplate for Better Learning. The program aims to eliminate malnutrition among school children so that they can learn and perform better in school.
The one-day “Lakbay-Aral” in Valenzuela City proves to be a success gauging from the positive feedback from the participants as they were able to learn from the good practices shared by the city which they can adopt in their own areas. (TAR/MEVF/NNCNCR)
