City officials allowed the use of the second floor of the City Health Services Office (CHSO) annex building for the salt iodization project of the Baguio City Nutrition Multipurpose Cooperative (BCNMPC).
Under Resolution No. 219, series of 2022, local legislators claimed that pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) 7160 or the Local Government code of the Philippines provided that the local chief executives, upon authorization of the local legislative bodies, shall represent the city in all business transactions and sign in its behalf all bonds, contracts and obligations.
The council advised the BCN-MPC and the CHSO to make the appropriate representation to the City Mayor for the preparation of a memorandum of agreement for the approved purpose.
The BCN-MPC is a non-government organization organized to manage the salt iodization project of the United Nations International Children’s Economic Fund (UNICEF), the Department of Health (DOH), and the local government.
A salt iodization plant was eventually established in July 1995 to effectively and efficiently address the high prevalence of iodine deficiency disorder in the city then.
The said salt iodization plant had been operating in a makeshift structure inside the CHSO compound when its former location was reportedly demolished.
The council claimed that one of the factors in making the city a recipient of the prestigious Nutrition Honor Award in 2019 was the said salt iodization project that was established way back in 1995.
The Nutrition Honor award is the highest distinction given by the National Nutrition Council (NNC) to a local government unit in recognition of its outstanding planning, management, and implementation of local nutrition programs.
Section 36 of RA 7160 as amended provided that a local government unit may, through its local chief executive and with the concurrence of the local legislative body concerned, provide assistance, financial or otherwise, to people’s and non-government organizations for economic, socially oriented, environmental, or cultural projects to be implemented within its territorial jurisdiction.
