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Quezon City — Policymakers and health experts underscored the urgent need for sodium reduction initiatives in the country, including administrative orders, legislation, and industry reformulation, to address the growing burden of hypertension, heart diseases, kidney complications, and other non-communicable diet-related illnesses.
According to a systematic analysis by the Global Burden of Diseases Nutrition and Chronic Diseases Expert Group (NutriCoDE) in 2013, Filipinos consume an average of 4.29 grams of sodium per day—more than twice the World Health Organization’s recommended daily limit of 2 grams. Excess sodium intake is a major driver of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which remain one of the leading causes of death and disability in the country.
Government’s role in building healthier food environments
Health authorities emphasized that sodium reduction cannot be achieved through individual choices alone. With families being surrounded by high-sodium processed and prepackaged food, it’s apparent that the crisis requires systemic, institutional measures that protect families and communities.
Dr. Sean Aquino, Medical Officer IV of Department of Health – Disease Prevention and Control Bureau (DOH-DPCB), underscored the need for multi-sector collaboration: “Even if the health sector pours all our efforts into disease prevention, without action from other sectors, our gains will remain minimal.”
To advance this agenda, the DOH, together with the Department of Science and Technology – Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI), National Nutrition Council (NNC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and ImagineLaw, is developing a national sodium reformulation roadmap. The roadmap identifies two priority areas—policy and advocacy, and evidence and research—placing reformulation of high-sodium products at the center of national healthy policy.
Dr. Aquino explained that the framework is designed to unify stakeholders around a common goal: “The strategic framework that we have in the Department of Health really guides all our stakeholders. We share the same goal of making Filipinos healthier. We just need to align ourselves so that efforts in the community are not duplicative.”
At the same time, Congress is advancing complementary efforts. As of April 2026, five Sodium Reformulation bills have been filed, with nine principal authors and four co-authors. This reflects a growing recognition among lawmakers of the risks posed by excessive sodium consumption and the urgent need for systemic solutions.
Rep. Carlos Andes Loria, principal author of House Bill No. 6334, noted, “For decades, the responsibility of healthy eating has rested unfairly on individuals, even as pre-packaged and processed foods quietly exceed global sodium benchmarks, shaping consumption patterns long before a Filipino decides what to eat. The Sodium Reformulation Bill changes this paradigm. It shifts the burden from the consumer to the institutions that shape our food environment—from individual willpower to collective accountability.”
Medical experts warn of health toll
The health burden of excessive sodium intake is already staggering. The Stanford Medicine Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE) reported in 2020 that one in four adults, or about 12 million Filipinos, has hypertension. At the same time, the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has also reached 35.94%, far higher than the global average of 9.1—13.4%.
Against this backdrop, Dr. Jane Lardizabal-Bunyi of the Philippine Society of Hypertension (PSH) emphasized the importance of prevention and patient education: “Our emphasis as specialists is on prevention. PSH follows through with the patients—we educate them and offer different modalities to prevent or control hypertension.”
Often driven by excess sodium intake, hypertension is also the leading cause of kidney damage. Expanding on this link, Dr. Margarita Abalon-Trinidad of the Philippine Society of Nephrology (PSN) underscored how prolonged, uncontrolled hypertension and high sodium intake contribute to kidney disease.
She added, “CKD is rising because one of the top causes is hypertension, followed by diabetes. And these diseases are preventable. It’s good that we have Sodium Reformulation Bills because now we’re being proactive—and we want to be ahead of the game. Because preventing diseases can lead to more savings that can be allotted to other preventive measures. That’s why we, at PSN, are very happy to support the Sodium Reformulation Bills.”
Community health advocates also weighed in, stressing that consequences extend beyond individuals to health systems. Dr. Juhani Capeding of the Philippine Society of Public Health Physicians (PSPHP) illustrated this reality with an anecdote:
“I remember working on an island with many fishermen. I assumed they eat mostly fish, but they told me they eat instant noodles instead—because they want to sell their catch.”
He explained that this is not an isolated case, as it reflects a broader structural issue: poverty and unhealthy food environments push families toward cheap, prepackaged food lacking in nutritional value but high in sodium, sugar, and unhealthy fats. These choices may be more affordable and filling in the short term, but they reinforce poor nutrition and drive up prevalence rates of NCDs across communities.
“We cannot regulate people’s choices, but we can regulate manufacturers of high-sodium food such as canned goods and instant noodles,” Dr. Capeding added.
Jeline Marie Corpuz, a nutritionist-dietitian, noted that this pattern reflects the imbalance in the food environment, where unhealthy options are more accessible than nutritious ones:
“It’s high time to implement policies that protect Filipino families by changing the nutrition landscape or the food environment. We need to make healthy food available in our markets. Without reforms, high-sodium products commonly consumed by the people will continue to increase the risk of developing NCDs among families.”
Economic burden of inaction
Beyond its health impact, the economic burden is equally severe. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated that NCDs cost the Philippines P756.5 billion in 2017, equivalent to 4.8% of GDP. More recent data show the strain on the national insurance system: in 2023, PhilHealth reported claims worth P1.15 billion for hypertensive emergencies and P3.6 billion for stroke infarctions.
The financial impact of kidney disease is even more staggering. In the same year, PhilHealth spent P17.3 billion on 3.6 million dialysis claims. By 2024, dialysis coverage reached nearly P1 million per patient annually, making it one of the most expensive benefit packages in the system.
Dr. Valerie Gilbert Ulep, Director of the Health Economics and Finance Program under the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, emphasized that NCDs are not only devastating for families, but also for the country as well.
“For the longest time, the burden of addressing NCDs has fallen on PhilHealth. Dialysis alone already accounts for about 20% of its total reimbursements—a single condition consuming a huge share of resources. There needs to be stronger population-level types of preventive interventions. If we do not address that aspect, we would always see a rapid increase in PhilHealth reimbursements towards dialysis and late-stage kidney diseases, and that will have long-term implications on fiscal health,” Dr. Ulep said.
Shared responsibility
Civil society advocates stressed that sodium reduction requires collective action. “Excessive sodium intake among Filipinos is a burden not only felt by individuals but also by families, communities, and the nation as a whole,” said Atty. Kim Areño of ImagineLaw, calling for urgent action across all sectors. “Regulating sodium content of food items is not a silver bullet intervention, but it is a necessary step. And a healthy food environment should be a right available to every Filipino, regardless of age or background.
“As advocates, we will continue raising awareness about the risks of high-sodium foods so that we can shift our food environments into a healthier one. Every effort matters because every life saved from preventable disease is a victory for our communities and our economy.”—Press release via ImagineLaw, Inc./MF
