Last Saturday night, the music of The Rainmakers did more than entertain. It inspired and rallied people toward an urgent cause: making Filipino children brighter, taller, and stronger (B-T-S).

The “Alay sa Mag-Nanay” Pre-Valentine Dinner Benefit Concert at The Manila Hotel drew musical artists, civic leaders, advocates, and philanthropists to confront a persistent national crisis — child malnutrition, especially during the most critical period of life, from conception to a child’s second birthday.

Organized by the Knights of Rizal in partnership with the Children’s First 1000 Days Coalition (CFDC) and The Manila Hotel, the concert to raise funds for poor pregnant mothers and their babies in the City of Manila featured stirring performances by Allison Gonzales, Aicelle Santos, Gerphil Flores, child saxophonist Gibzon Villajuan, and the Hope Children’s Choir.

They belted out timeless OPM classics, with the three-man group The Rainmakers — consisting of Joel Macanaya (who also served as the concert’s overall director), Ramon Villanueva, and Jojo Gorospe — serenading the audience with their original hits, including their most famous song, Binibini.

On behalf of the CFDC, where I serve as national project chair, I extend my heartfelt thanks not only to the performers but also to co-presentor Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and to the sponsors led by Congressman Ador and Gerly Pleyto and family, and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.

Other sponsors include the City Government of Santa Rosa, GSIS, Eaglestar Security Services, Villarica Pawnshop, City Government of Meycauayan, and Kitchen Care Consultancy Phils., Herma Group, Levi Facundo, Centro Escolar University, Montesa Medical Group, Ayala Land Corp., AAlliance Resources Management, John Co Gacutan, Manilamed (Medical Center Manila), and Noble Home Corp.

Eastern Telecommunications Phils. Inc., Nague Malic Magnawa and Associates Customs Broker (NMN), Primepower Manpower Services, Aling Ludy’s Seafoods Dealer, Pag-IBIG Fund, Dermcare, JAS Manpower Services, Lely Herrera, Philtrust Bank, Maynilad Water Services Inc., Ma. Victoria Buenafe, Dynamic Outsource Solutions Inc., Philippine College of Surgeons, and A1Unlimited Seafood Corp. were also donor sponsors.

What made the night extra special was its unshakeable sense of purpose. The benefit concert championed a mission far more profound than entertainment: ensuring that poor Filipino children receive the nutrition, care, and vital support during the first 1,000 days of life.

This is the heart of CFDC’s advocacy, which recognizes early childhood as a narrow but decisive window — one that shapes lifelong health, learning capacity, and productivity. The first 1,000 days are the foundation of a child’s future. When nutrition is compromised during this critical period, the damage is often irreversible, and the cost to society immense.

UNICEF has warned that stunting during this critical period disrupts brain development and weakens a child’s ability to learn and stay healthy. Undernutrition — measured through underweight, wasting, and stunting — is linked to an estimated 95 child deaths daily in the Philippines.

The consequences of stunting ripple beyond health and mortality. The World Bank describes “learning poverty” — the inability to read and understand simple text by age 10 — as a critical indicator of long-term educational and economic disadvantage. In the Philippines, learning poverty surged to around 90 percent in 2021, worsened by pandemic school closures.

But even before Covid-19, learning poverty was already alarmingly high. Filipino students have consistently underperformed in international assessments such as PISA, with only a small fraction reaching basic proficiency in reading, mathematics, and science.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), in its recently released final report, “Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reforms,” described a systemic “proficiency collapse” in Philippine education. It found that only four out of every 1,000 senior high school students possess essential skills in problem-solving, data analysis, and clear communication.

Other studies estimate that the Philippines loses hundreds of billions of pesos yearly due to lower productivity, higher healthcare costs, and diminished human potential tied to poor early childhood nutrition. Viewed through the World Bank’s Human Capital Index, children born today could be 48 percent less productive as adults than they could have been with proper health and education.

RA 11148, the Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act of 2018, mandates a whole-of-government, whole-of-society strategy to prioritize maternal and early childhood nutrition, calling on national agencies, local governments, civil society, and the private sector to act together.

This is where fundraising concerts like the “Alay sa Mag-Nanay” becomes particularly meaningful. Proceeds from last Saturday’s concert will benefit indigent pregnant mothers in Manila, identified through Barangay Health Workers and Barangay Nutrition Scholars, ensuring that support reaches families at their most vulnerable stage.

But beyond the funds raised, the concert delivered something just as vital: hope. For a couple of hours, music gave voice to children yet unborn, to mothers struggling, and to futures still fragile but not lost.

In a country where malnutrition remains persistent, the songs that filled the ballroom that night carried a promise — that when we choose to act, to give, and to care, we can make poor Filipino children B-T-S. And perhaps that is the most powerful refrain of all. ([email protected])