The Office of the Vice President (OVP) has partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) to pilot-test the “Pansarap’” initiative, a supplemental nutrition program for undernourished learners, in Lower Tamugan Elementary School (LTES) here on Tuesday.

OVP Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez said at least 733 undernourished learners from kindergarten to Grade 6 level from LTES are the first beneficiaries of the nutritional buns developed by the Department of Science and Technology through the Food and Nutrition Research Institute.

The Pansarap buns come in 10 flavors, all Halal certified, and will be distributed to students from Mondays to Fridays for 120 days.

Brembhot Eyas, the LTES principal, said the number of undernourished children in their school is “alarming.” The school currently has 988 enrolled learners.

“For this, we are grateful to the OVP for doing such an initiative to give equal importance to the health of our students,” Eyas was quoted in the OVP statement Wednesday.

Lopez said the OVP plans to bring the program to other parts of the country with high cases of malnutrition among children.

The program is also set to be implemented in Upi town, Maguindanao province, targeting some 1,893 schoolchildren, she added. (PNA)