Batang Matatag is expanding to 44 schools in Pasig as the child health initiative marks its fifth year, bringing health education on gut health and everyday hygiene to more school communities.
Launched with the Manila Water Foundation, Department of Education, and Pasig City Government, the initiative is built on a simple premise: healthier children need more than a health lecture. They need practical habits reinforced at home and in school.
Erceflora is supporting the expansion with refrigerated drinking water fountains that put cool, safe drinking water within easier reach of students, alongside lessons on handwashing, toothbrushing, and sanitation.
“Batang Matatag has always been about creating healthier environments where children can grow and thrive,” said Rica Mateo, Erceflora ASEA Brand Zone Lead. As the program enters its fifth year, she said the focus is shifting toward habits that can support children’s health over the long term.
Batang Matatag began as a water, sanitation and hygiene, or WASH, initiative and has since expanded into a broader child health program. Erceflora says it has reached 150,000 students and healthcare professionals as of 2026, up from 9,494 students in 2023.
The Pasig rollout covers De Castro Elementary School, Nagpayong High School, Pinagbuhatan High School, Manggahan High School, and San Miguel Elementary School, with activities held in July and August.
At De Castro, more than 100 students, teachers, and parents attended a gut health lecture during the turnover of WASH facilities and refrigerated drinking water stations.
Pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Jo-Anne De Castro said safe water is only the beginning. Good nutrition, proper hygiene, and consistent healthy habits also help protect children from illnesses such as diarrhea and support their ability to stay in school and learn.
The program’s WASH Paaralan sessions enlist selected students as hygiene role models, recognizing that children sometimes listen more closely to classmates than adults.
As Batang Matatag enters its sixth year, Erceflora plans to expand beyond Luzon and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or BARMM.
The formula is refreshingly simple: clean water, clean hands, good habits, and a little peer pressure, preferably of the healthy kind.
