Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

This Filipino senator has blamed imported cow’s milk for children being “dumb” and performing poorly in international tests.

Senator Cynthia Villar, who is the chair of the country’s agriculture committee, has blamed the National Dairy Authority for helping their children become “dumb”.

She made the statements in the wake of reports that Filipino children finished last in a standardised reading comprehension test which involved 17 countries in total.

She claimed that as the majority of milk in the Philipines is imported poorer families cannot afford it, saying: “That’s why your students have become dumb, because you did not help them with proper nutrition. The quality of teachers alone is not the reason but the proper nutrition of children, especially the poor children, that’s why I’m blaming the Department of Agriculture.

“Of course, if a child is poor, can the child afford to buy imported? Of course not. So there are no poor kids drinking milk, that’s why you are partly to blame for their stupidity.”

Villar also called for water buffalo to be used to increase the production of dairy products in the country.

The country’s Agriculture Secretary William Dar said he acknowledged Villar’s criticism of “the measly supply of locally-produced milk” and said efforts would be made to double production in five years.

Villar is married to billionaire businessman Manuel Villar, who himself was a senator for 12 years.

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