Transcript of Senator Pia Cayetano's Privilege Speech National Breastfeeding Awareness Month

Transcript of Senator Pia Cayetano's Privilege Speech
National Breastfeeding Awareness Month
August 19, 2025

Mr. President, I rise on a matter of personal and collective privilege. For the past two decades, I have delivered a breastfeeding speech every August in recognition of National Breastfeeding Month. The theme for the World Health Organization's 2025 World Breastfeeding Week is Breastfeeding: Invest in the Future. Supporting Breastfeeding means and ensuring mothers access to the information and help they need to breastfeed as long as they choose.

Why is this information important? I will explain later on as I go through the history of the laws we have passed.

The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund, recommend that children initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth and be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life. Breastfeeding is the simplest way to give a baby its first immunity and address malnutrition, serving as nature's first immunization. As party to the United Nations' 2023 Sustainable Development Agenda, the Philippines is committed to integrate the sustainable development goals into our national development plans and policies. Breastfeeding is shown to affect several of the SDGs, namely: SDG 2 on Zero Hunger, SDG 3 on Good Health and Well-Being, SDG 4 on Quality Education, SDG 5 on Gender Equality, SDG 10 on reduced inequalities, SDG 12 on responsible production and consumption, SDG 13 Climate Action, SDG 17 on Partnership for the Goals.

What can we do better? According to the 2023 National Nutrition Survey, only 50.4% of babies are exclusively breastfed during the first six months. So why is this figure important? It means roughly 50% of the babies are not exclusively breastfed. So how are they fed? Well, for some who can afford, they would purchase formula breastmilk substitutes which are clearly not as nutritious as mothers' milk. And they also have their own form of danger because when a family is in a crisis situation or lives in poverty, and they do not have access to clean water, then the formula milk that they serve with water that is unclean can also lead to many illnesses including deaths for babies. So that is the problem even if they have the ability to purchase formula milk. And for others, they make do with homemade alternatives that are definitely not as nutritious. They make what they call "am", which is water from the rice. Yung tubig diba maputi yon pagkatapos mo mahugasan yung bigas, ang tawag don, "am". So yun yung pinapainom nila sa baby that has almost zero nutritional value. So marami hong mga ganyan. Tapos yung iba condensed milk, evaporated milk ihahalo lang sa tubig. And this is really not what an infant needs. That's why importante itong figure na tandaan natin na only 50% of babies are exclusively breastfed for the first six months. So we have a long way to go, Mr. President.

Now, what began as a call to recognize the nutritional and developmental value of breast milk has since evolved into a sustained legislative and public health campaign through laws that regulate the marketing of breast milk substitutes, mandate workplace lactation support, and promote breastfeeding awareness, we have gradually built the foundation for a more breastfeeding-friendly Philippines. It is important to acknowledge the progress that we have achieved through the different legislative measures.

So here's a brief history, my dear colleagues. 1986. Executive Order No. 51 or the Philippine Milk Code was promulgated. Napaka importanteng batas nito but I will just highlight a few points. It prohibits the advertising, promotion, or sponsorship of breast milk substitutes, feeding bottles, and teats intended for infants up to 24 months. When I became a senator in 2004, 21 years ago, mainit ho ang diskusyon nito because many hospitals, including our own public hospitals, were still advertising, were still promoting, were still sponsoring formula milk. Ang lakaran po doon, yung sales rep pupunta sa hospital tapos nagre-regalo na yan sa nanay ng lata ng gatas. Si nanay naman, not knowing, I don't even think I knew it also when I was a young mother, eh di thank you, niregaluhan mo ako ng gatas, di ba? Sino ba naman para hindi mag thank you? But what they don't know is, pag naumpisahan mo ang baby mo ng formula milk, edi syempre, less ang pagsuso nya sa'yo kasi nga, may iba kang pinapakain. And the milk supply of a mother is supply and demand: the more a baby sucks, the more there will be milk. The more na may magregalo ng milk, edi the more na hindi na makakaproduce ng gatas ang nanay. And then tuloy-tuloy na siyang wala nang supply, tuloy-tuloy na siyang magiging dependent sa formula milk. Ang tindi ng laban nito, mga colleagues, mga kababayan na nakikinig sa atin, ang tinding laban nito kasi talagang pinipilit ng mga milk companies na magbigay ng ganyang libreng mga gatas sa mga ospital. Sa pagkakaalam ko, we have been quite successful kasi wala na akong nababalitaan, wala na akong narinig. Pero consider this a call to the DOH, to the LGU executives na tingnan nyo, let's be sure na hindi na ho ito maibalik, hindi na tayo masingitan ng ganito.

Another thing that's very important understanding this issue in sponsorship, siguro many of you will say, "pero I see commercials na pinopromote yung milk formula", yung tinatawag na breast milk substitutes, well supposedly hindi yan dapat napopromote for under 6 months and below. There was a time and I still believe in it, gusto ko nga 24 months pa onward ang pagpopromote kasi 24 months medyo toddler na yan. Eh ano ba yung difference ng baby na 6 months, 7 months, 8 months? I don't think most people can tell the difference by looking at a baby in an advertisement. So when you see a baby in an advertisement, hindi sila lumalabag sa law pero kasi ang law natin medyo mababa yung age na pwede i-promote yan. So that's still something I wish we had the political will to do para lalong ma-promote ang pagbe-breastfeed. Kasi alam niyo na yung style ng promotion, sasabihin na pag ito yung gatas na ininom ng baby mo magiging matalino siya, magiging star pupil siya, magiging matangkad siya, e hindi po. The best way na magiging lahat siya na gano'n, dumedi siya sa nanay niya.

The next law is RA 7600 or the rooming-in and breastfeeding act in 1992 authored by the late Senator Ed Angara. Ito po yung law na nagrerequire pagkapanganak doon agad yung baby sa room ng mommy, as the picture shows. Kasi dati kasama yan sa nagpapahirap sa nanay na maging successful ang kanyang pag breastfeed kasi yung baby nya nasa nursery. So ayaw din yan ng mga milk companies na mapasa din itong batas na ito kasi the more na yung baby malayo sa mommy, the more na pag iniyak, at yun yung sinasabi ng nurse, e umiyak e, tas bibigyan nila ng formula. Pero kung ang baby kasama na agad ng mommy pag iyak, dede ng mommy kaagad ang ibibigay sa kanya. So this is a very important law in 1992.

And then in 2006 I filed my first bill to promote breastfeeding in the country. I authored SB 2490 or the Breastfeeding Promotion Act. In 2007 I refiled my bill in the 14th Congress, Senate Bill 761 which sought to require lactation stations in public places and in private and government offices. It also mandated employers to allow milk breaks for nursing employees. So finally pumasa to in 2009, it's called the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009. And this is why when you go to malls, when you go to bus stations, when you go to airports, you will see these breastfeeding stations. Ito po yun. Ito po yung batas natin that has been in place for some fifteen years and I'm very grateful nakikita ko ito kahit saan ako nakakarating sa Pilipinas. Pero kung may makita kayong public place na tingin niyo kailangan yan, pakireport na lang sa DOH or sabihin niyo yung administrator doon because this is the law and it needs to be followed.

What's also interesting to note, dear colleagues, is that itong lactation stations natin are also available in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. The lactation station in the Senate is also my project with our Gender and Development Office. Circa what year? I think this was before my second term ended in 2016.

I also want to point out that one of the reasons I take time delivering this speech is because many of us have female colleagues. Many of them are mothers. Many of them have given birth and many of them would like to breastfeed. And one way we can support them is of course this breastfeeding room which is open to the public. The good news here is I've heard reports where a resource person would attend a hearing, nagbe-breastfeed siya, alam niyo naman yung hearing natin, minsan aabutin ng 4 na oras, 6 na oras and they were very relieved to know that may breastfeeding room tayo. But I also want to take the opportunity to commend my staff. I have many female staff including my lawyers, including my personal staff who are models for the working mom and the breastfeeding life. There are dozens of photos of them discreetly breastfeeding behind the scenes. Whatever work their principals are doing, they're still there discreetly breastfeeding. So I encourage our colleagues to take note of this kasi these are working moms na even though napasa na natin yung 105 Expanded Maternity Leave Law sponsored by Senator Risa here in the Senate, which I authored when I was in the House, kailangan pa rin nila ng support while they are working with us.

So on the last point, this is an ongoing challenge for us. My office and I personally have breastfeeding seminars all over the country kasi ang laking tipid, I don't think I emphasized that yet, ang laking tipid for a family to be able to rely on a breastfeeding mom's milk. Imagine if for one year nakakapag breastfeed siya, ang laking bagay nun sa health ng anak niya pero ang laking tipid din sa ibang gastusin dun sa pamilya. So I hope DOH continues the work. Tayo naman po ay nag-advocate lang nito but we call on all our colleagues to support this.

And one last point is in the Breastfeeding Promotion Act that we passed, it calls on DepEd, CHED, and TESDA to incorporate (breastfeeding) in the courses. Doesn't mean that you have to have a separate course dedicated to this, hindi ganun yun, iniincorporate lang. So when you talk about family life, when you talk about health and nutrition, naka-incorporate yan sa courses nila.

So I think that is the end of my breastfeeding lecture for everyone. I hope that you will all be supportive of your female staff and breastfeeding culture in the Philippines. Thank you.

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