Some 3,000 minimum wage earners, out of the 11,000 initial target beneficiaries in La Union province this month, have availed of the PHP20 per kilogram (kg) rice under the national government’s “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!” program.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Ilocos Region information officer Jenny Mapile, in a phone interview on Tuesday, said the 3,000 employees are from 54 establishments in the province. The program is in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of La Union.
“The first purchase of rice is for the 3,000 beneficiaries and the purchase for the remaining 8,000 is ongoing with employer groups,” she said.
Mapile said they are also processing the necessary documents, including the memorandum of agreement with interested employers, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture.
The distribution of the PHP20 per kg rice to the minimum wage earners in the province will be until June 30.
DOLE-Ilocos Director Exequiel Ronie Guzman said in a recent forum that the rice program is initially for the vulnerable sectors but “we wanted to extend it also to the minimum wage earners as they also struggle to make ends meet.”
Guzman said each eligible employee may purchase up to 10 kilos of the PHP20/kg rice.
“The scheme is for their employers to enter into a memorandum of agreement to avail of the program. The Food Terminal Incorporated will buy the rice from the NFA (National Food Authority) and the employers will get the rice from NFA,” he said.
The employees will then buy the rice from their employers at PHP20 per kg, while some employers choose to give it for free to their employees, he added.
Guzman said they plan to also launch the program in other provinces in the region. He also expressed optimism about the sustainability of the program until the end of the term of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in June 2028.
“We are very grateful for the early Christmas gift for the employees. Some employers will give it as an early Christmas gift. The employees and employers are very happy,” Xavier Mercado, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of La Union, told the Philippine News Agency.
“Thank you to our President (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.) for this opportunity. We are grateful that we were chosen. We all know for provincial rate, this is a huge help because of the big discount,” Bien Sta. Ana, rooms division manager of Puerto De San Juan Beach Resort in San Juan town, said.
He said the program has enabled minimum wage workers to save around PHP30 to PHP40 per kg of rice purchased. (PNA)
