EDCOM 2: Address rising stunting rate

The Second Congressional Commission on Education has called on the National Nutrition Council to confront the rising prevalence of stunting among children, warning that official targets may present a misleading picture of progress.

EDCOM 2 executive director Karol Mark Yee said government goals should reflect the problems the state recognizes, rather than indicators that allow agencies to claim success on paper while children’s condition worsens.

Yee cited the NNC target under the National Expenditure Program, which requires 20% of local government units to meet the minimum score under the Seal of Quality Nutrition Program. The NNC has reported a compliance rate of 96.16%.

At the same time, national stunting prevalence has continued to increase. A June 2025 survey by the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute found that 25.3% of children under five were stunted, up from 23.6% in 2023. It marked the first national increase in more than a decade.

“This presents a conflicting picture of an agency seemingly overachieving its original target, while in reality, stunting is worsening,” Yee said.

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This presents a conflicting picture of an agency seemingly overachieving its original target, while in reality, stunting is worsening.