“DAPAT MAY BABALA PARA WAIS NA PAGPILI”: LAW GROUP CALLS FOR MEDIA STORIES ON FOOD WARNING LABELING

Pasig City - ImagineLaw, a public interest law group, invites Filipino journalists and media practitioners to join a media fellowship to produce stories about food warning labels in relation to public health. This initiative seeks to foster deeper understanding about the issue and initiate focused conversations through media narratives and reports.  

“Filipinos are often misled into buying harmful food due to the lack of clear and accessible nutritional information,” said Atty. Sophia San Luis, Executive Director of ImagineLaw. “This contributes to poor dietary choices, and the World Health Organization (WHO) identified an unhealthy diet as a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases," she noted, citing WHO research.

Up to three journalists will receive grants of up to PHP 50,000 each to support research, data gathering, editing, and publication. Fellows will also have access to workshops, resources, and networking opportunities as they develop their stories.

ImagineLaw advocates for a law mandating front-of-pack warning labels (FOPWL) on processed and pre-packaged foods, providing consumers with clear nutritional information to easily distinguish between healthy and unhealthy food and beverage options. 

“The fellowship stories will help raise awareness on the urgent need for mandatory food warning labels to protect Filipinos’ health and promote consumers’ right to food information,” San Luis emphasized. 

Interested journalists can apply through https://bit.ly/ILWarningLabelFellowship by November 21, 2024. The full details of the fellowship, which will run from December 2024 to February 2025, are available at https://bit.ly/DapatMayLabelFellowship2024.