29 October 2020, Cagayan de Oro City – Policies from select local government units in Region 10 gained spotlight during the virtual launch of the first ever online portal on Compendium of Local Ordinances and Issuance on Nutrition. The launch was dovetailed during the 6^th National Conference of Nutrition Action Officers held last 1 October 2020.

The Compendium is a knowledge-sharing platform for LGUs to gain insights on successful nutrition initiatives from other areas done through effective policy support. This is a joint initiative of the National Nutrition Council, Nutrition Action Officers Association of the Philippines (NAOPA), Inc. with technical support from the Nutrition International.

A total of 209 local ordinances and 44 executive orders were initially uploaded as of 29 October 2020 in the portal submitted by local governments across 17 regions nationwide. Among these nutrition policies are from NorMin Region that included nine (9) local ordinances and six (6) executive orders in the database. 

Rigorous review process was conducted by the NNC regional offices and the National Project Team to determine the ordinances to be uploaded in the online portal and those chosen few that will be featured in the printed publication.

Below are the lists of local policies from Region 10 LGUs that are featured in the online portal: 

• Cagayan de Oro City Ordinance No. 13002-2015 - An Ordinance Increasing the Monthly Honorarium of the Child Development Teachers from ₱2,400 to ₱3,500 each, and the Barangay Nutrition Scholars (BNS) and the Barangay Health Workers (BHW) from ₱1,500 to ₱3,500 each
• Catarman Municipal Ordinance No. 9 s, 2019 – An Ordinance Prohibiting the Ambulant Vendors and Non-Ambulant stores in Selling of Junk Foods, Liquors, Cigarettes and sugary Drinks to Preparatory, Elementary and High School Students Inside and Within One Hundred Meters (100 m) Radius from the Perimeter
• Gingoog City Executive Order NO. 2018-13 - An order approving the city government initiatives on nutrition program dubbed as “MG1K – Malusog Gingoog First 1000 Days of Life Program
• Kadingilan Municipal Ordinance No. 04-13 - An Ordinance requiring all households to plant at least five (5) kinds of common vegetables at their backyard
• Kadingilan Municipal Ordinance No. 2010-06 - An Ordinance providing for the establishment of Nutri-Stores in all Barangays of Kadingilan
• Kadingilan Municipal Ordinance No. 2014-12 - An Ordinance requiring applicants for Registration for a Certificate of Live Birth & Marriage License to submit to the office of the Municipal Civil Registrar a Certification from the MNAO the presence of Garden of Go, Grow and Glow (G4) in their backyard using the BIO-Intensive System in support to the Nutrition Program of the LGU
• Manolo Fortich Municipal Ordinance No. 2015-1045 - An Ordinance Institutionalizing the Real Quality Public Service (RQPS) as one of the main programs of the special projects in the Municipality of Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon and Appropriating Funds thereof.
• Maramag Municipal Ordinance No. 2014-070 - An Ordinance prohibiting the sale of Non- Fortified Food Products and Beverages within one hundred meter radius (100M) from Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School boundaries in the Municipality of Maramag, Bukidnon.
• Maramag Municipal Ordinance No. 2016-121 – An ordinance Disseminating the 10 Kumainments Nutrition Guidelines for Filipinos to the Public Establishments and Public Utility Vehicles in the Municipality of Maramag, Bukidnon
• Misamis Oriental Executive Order No. 08-2008 - Declaring the Province-Wide Annual Search for the Most Outstanding G4 (Garden of Go, Grow, and Glow) Barangay and Most Outstanding Household Urban/Rural Backyard Garden
• Quezon Executive Order No. 2011-04 - An Order Reconstituting the Search for Gulayan ng Kawani in the Local Government Unit of Quezon, Bukidnon
• Valencia City Executive Order No.32 s. 2020 An Order Creating the Nutriland Project Management Team to Conduct Project Initiation and its Development in the City of Valencia, Bukidnon
• Valencia City Executive Order No. 36 s. 2015 - An Order Requiring All Private and Public Establishments or Institutions within the Territorial Jurisdiction of the City of Valencia, Bukidnon To Establish and Maintain a Breastfeeding Station for Nursing Mothers
• Valencia City Executive Order No. 61 s. 2015 - An Order Creating the Bantay Asin Task Force in the City of Valencia, Bukidnon
• Valencia City Ordinance No. 18-2017 - An Ordinance intensifying the distribution, retail, and the use of iodized salt in the City of Valencia, Bukidnon, providing penalties for violations thereof.

In addition, Kadingilan Municipal Ordinance No. 2014-12 will be featured as part of the 20 local ordinances in the printed publication of the Compendium for Local Ordinances on Nutrition.

The uploaded local ordinances and issuances in the portal have been selected based on four criteria namely: Responsiveness, Coverage and Reach, Impact, and Replicability. The local ordinances and issuances collected are tagged according to thematic clusters – ranging from ordinances on the First 1000 Days Program, ordinances on food security, Barangay Nutrition Scholars, nutrition supportive, nutrition education and promotion, codes, regulation, financing, and more.

According to NNC Executive Director Dr. Azucena M. Dayanghirang, the Compendium is a useful instrument to mobilize more LGUs in crafting responsive local policies. As local legislations put more “teeth” into national laws by allocating budget for nutrition particularly Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition 2017-2022rograms and need to be enforced to serve its purpose of improving nutrition.

The online portal will be continuously updated per receipt of new outstanding policies from LGUs. Access it here: https://www.nnc.gov.ph/policy-database?start=10 .

NNC X commits to continually guide the local government in framing their nutrition policies towards achieving better nutrition outcomes as one region in nutrition. (ND II Angelique Jean Maggay).