Philippines presents a Compendium of Local Ordinances and Issuances on Nutrition

The Compendium of Local Ordinances and Issuances on Nutrition is a project of the National Nutrition Council in partnership with the Nutrition Officers Association of the Philippines (NAOPA), with support from Nutrition International and UNICEF Philippines.

The Compendium of Local Ordinances and Issuances on Nutrition serves as a knowledge-sharing platform for local government units to learn from initiatives of local government units who have successfully harnessed the strength of policy instruments in scaling up nutrition. The project aims to widely disseminate actual examples of effective local policies on nutrition through the form of an electronic online compilation and a printed publication, that can be publicly accessed and used as reference by local governments aspiring to improve their implementation of nutrition programs.

Thematic clusters

© UNICEF/Noorani

The local ordinances and issuances found in the portal are tagged according to Thematic Clusters – ranging from ordinances on the First 1000 Days Program, ordinances on food security, Barangay Nutrition Scholars, and more. A total of 10 major Thematic Clusters can be accessed in the portal, with specific sub-clusters found in several themes. Additional thematic clusters may be added as they emerge.

This clustering allows users to see groups of related ordinances under specific areas of concern in local nutrition programming.

Special features

There are five additional special features to be developed for the online portal of the Compendium of Local Ordinances and Issuances on Nutrition.

1. A “Featured Local Policy of the Month” which shall include a brief narrative with policy analysis of the featured issuance
2. New additions to the Compendium portal will be announced in the “Newly-added Local Ordinances and Issuances” section with narratives for each newly-uploaded ordinance that pass the screening process from our regions.
3. “Legal Analysis of Ordinances” section will be released and updated quarterly, providing LGUs with a take on sets of ordinances in the Compendium from a legal perspective.
4. Periodically, the Compendium portal will update its “Generic Ordinance Templates” that incorporate the national policies and laws, as well as the innovative features of existing ordinances within similar thematic clusters.
5. The portal will periodically provide suggestions for updating existing ordinances given new directives and commitments from the national, regional, and international level at the “Updates from the International, Regional, and National Levels” section.

Online Portal

There are 208 local ordinances and 45 executive orders initially uploaded in the portal, coming from submissions from provincial, city, and municipal local governments across the 17 regions of the Philippines. (As of 1 October 2020)

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 NNC Regional Offices and the National Project Team composed of members from the NNC Central Office, NAOPA, and the NTEAM TAN Providers supported by Nutrition International conducted a rigorous review process to determine the final ordinances uploaded in the online portal and those that will be featured in the printed publication.

• Compendium of Local Ordinances and Issuances on Nutrition – NNC Website

“The compendium is a tool that will provide knowledge for provincial, city & municipal govts. to develop, improve & adapt effective & responsive nutrition policies” shares our Philippines Country Director, Dr. Loreto Roquero Jr at the launch of @NNCofficialph’s portal pic.twitter.com/PI3l4W0t1r

— Nutrition International (@NutritionIntl) October 1, 2020