Bantayan Island, Cebu - Regional Nutrition Committee (RNC) thru RNPC Dr. Parolita A. Mission and RNC-Technical Working Group Member Ms. Piladelfa S. Gaviola of PAN - Cebu Chapter visited the three municipalities of Bantayan Island on 07-08 November 2022. The visit was in response to the request of the Bantayan MNC Chair Hon. Mayor Arthur E. Despi for them to reorganize their Municipal Nutrition Committee (MNC) and orient the newly elected mayor of the adjacent municipality of Madridejos on the nutrition program.
The advocacy meetings started in the Municipality of Bantayan wherein the team was greeted by the newly designated Municipal Nutrition Action Officer (MNAO), Ms. Josephine Belotindos of MSWD. The locality held an MNC meeting that was attended by different municipal department offices and non-government agencies and the new Municipal Nutrition Program Coordinator (MNPC), PHN Maria Manulat of the RHU Bantayan. The meeting was presided over by its MNC Chair & Mayor Despi who also expressed his bias toward nutrition having attended the LNAP workshop during his first term as mayor.
RNPC Dr. Mission in the meeting discussed the imperative of investing in nutrition and shared the success stories of other LGUs in their journey for stunting reduction. She also elaborated on the Philippine Plan of Action for Nutrition, the different nutrition programs, projects, and activities that the MNC could pursue responsive to their situation and be included in the MNAP; the nature and mandate of MNC; and the roles and responsibilities of the chair, MNAO, MNPC, and the different members. Ms. Gaviola on the hand presented the MELLPI Pro expounding on the different dimensions of the tool, and the awards system to aid them in their journey towards nutrition awards in the future.
An advocacy meeting also took place in the Municipality of Madridejos, Cebu wherein RNPC Dr. Mission was welcomed by the new MNAO, Mr. Reynaldo Santillan of the Municipal Agriculture’s Office and municipal nutrition program coordinator, Ms. Minette Neri RN of the RHU. Together they were ushered into the office of the MNC Chair Hon. Mayor Romeo A. Villaceran of the Municipality of Madridejos. RNPC Dr. Mission oriented the mayor on the nutrition program using the neo-nutrition guide and why invest in nutrition. The advocacy meeting was attended by some members of the MNC and the Municipal BNS Association president.
The team’s last stop in the island was in the Municipality of Sta Fe where they met MNAO Dr. Neil Bryan A. Gilbuena, MNPC PHN Astrid G. Fariolen, and some members of the MNC to raise the concern that the LGU is included in the top 5 nutritionally at-risk municipalities in the province of Cebu based on the 2021 OPT Plus and the urgent actions needed to improve their standing. She also recommended the inclusion of the church-based organization in Sta Fe to align the latter’s nutrition-specific and sensitive interventions with the priorities of the MNC.
To know more about the ongoing nutrition activities in the Central Visayas. Please do like, share, and follow the National Nutrition Council 7 official Facebook page for more nutrition updates. ND II James Aaron S. Perez, RND
