DAVAO City’s school-based feeding program “Project Alaga”is expected to begin in October, a lawmaker here announced on Tuesday.
During the Pulong Pulong sa Dabawenyos on Sept. 29, Councilor Antonette Prinsipe, committee chair on education, science and technology, said the City Council approved on final reading the measure authorizing Mayor Sebastian Duterte to sign a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Education (DepEd) for Project Alaga.
“The city is awaiting a legal opinion before holding a ceremonial signing of the agreement,” she said, adding that the program’s onsite and central kitchens have already been hired.
Meanwhile, the City Engineer’s Office is in the preliminary stage of constructing the kitchens, and feeding is expected to begin in October.
Project Alaga stands for “Advancing Learners through Accessible, Guaranteed, and Adequate nutrition” and is a joint school feeding program of DepEd and the city government that will serve hot meals to learners.
The city government, through the Local School Board, has earmarked P20 million to augment the existing budget of the DepEd for the program.
For its part, the DepEd allots ₱25 per learner for 110 days, which goes to items such as Nutribun and milk, and Project Alaga adds hot meals on top of this.
The P20 million from the city government will cover construction of the onsite school kitchens and refurbishment of some existing kitchens, including the Santa Ana central kitchen and compensation of kitchen cooks and staff, which the city’s portion will automatically cover.
The official said the P20 million is good for two school years, and funding may be increased next year. “The Local School Board will determine how the program can be sustained and what budget it will need,” Prinsipe said.
Ten schools in the pilot phase
Project Alaga will cover 10 schools under two setups. In the city proper, a central kitchen in the Santa Ana school district will supply feeder schools.
The satellite schools within the district are: Sta Ana ES in Brgy 28-C; Agdao ES in Brgy Kapitan Monteverde; Cong. Manuel M. Garcia ES in Brgy Leon Garcia; Jose Rizal ES, Manuel Roxas in 28-C, and Zonta ES In 23-C.
Meanwhile, elementary schools in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) will have their own on-site kitchens.
These include schools: Baksarpa Elementary School (Barangay Sumimao); Malakeba Elementary School (Barangay Bantol); Manawang Elementary School (Barangay Salaysay); Tagaibo Elementary School (Barangay Malamba); Kabangbang Elementary School (Barangay Gumitan); Sumilop and Upian Elementary School from (Barangay Marilog Proper).
The schools in GIDA will be implementing a universal feeding program from Kindergarten to Grade 6, while in Sta. Ana, only students identified as malnourished or severely wasted will be included.
