One of the reasons child malnutrition has persisted in the Region is due to a lack of personnel to oversee and manage nutrition programs at the local level. In SOCCSKSARGEN, out of 53 Local Government Units (LGUs), only 15 full-time designated Nutrition Action Officers (NAOs) were managing LGU's nutrition program.

The Mandanas-Garcia Ruling's implementation gives LGUs the chance to improve their nutrition program by setting up nutrition offices with sufficient staff to ensure the formulation and implementation of Nutrition Action Plans that includes efforts directed to families of nutritionally vulnerable individuals.

In support to establishment of Nutrition Office at the LGU level the Regional Development Council (RDC) XII enacted a Resolution No. 46 series of 2022 entitled “Enjoining all Local Government Units to strengthen their Nutrition Program by establishing a nutrition office, hiring full time nutrition personnel and incorporate the same in the LGU’s devolution transition plan”.

The resolution aims to institutionalize the nutrition office structure at the LGU to ensure that there are personnel who can focus on the management of LGU nutrition programs with multi-sectoral involvement from relevant LGU stakeholders, and ensure that the LGU can fulfill its crucial responsibility of fostering human capital development through nutrition.

The establishment of a local nutrition office with sufficient nutrition personnel will result in the full functionality of the Local Nutrition Committee (LNC), further, it is a key to ensuring the effective and efficient implementation of nutrition interventions, which would contribute to the institutionalization of nutrition program of the region.(LFU/AMF/RML)