About 3,500 minimum wage earners in Leyte province have already availed of the PHP20 per kg. rice under the “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na” program as part of the nationwide rollout to make the staple food more accessible to low-income workers.

National Food Authority (NFA) 8 (Eastern Visayas) manager May Ann Sabarre said on Thursday that the initiative has already benefited minimum wage earners of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refinery (PASAR) Corp. in Isabel, Leyte and the Energy Development Corp. (EDC) in Kananga, Leyte.

“In partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), we are ensuring that our minimum wage earners have access to quality and affordable rice,” Sabarre told the Philippine News Agency.

“With sufficient stocks in our warehouses, we are ready to provide the requirement of DOLE for our low-income workers.”

About 2,000 minimum wage earners of the EDC have benefited from the rice-selling activity of the regional labor office under the BBM Na program at the Keitech Educational Foundation in Kananga, Leyte on July 21.

The labor department launched the program in Isabel, Leyte on June 13, where 1,500 minimum wage earners of PASAR bought 15,000 kg. of rice.

DOLE-8 head Dax Villaruel said each worker was able to purchase 10 kg. of rice during the one-day selling activity held in their workplaces.

“The DOLE is committed to helping the Filipinos cope with rising prices of goods, particularly rice,” Villaruel said in a statement.

The NFA in the region has 275,064 bags of rice stored in 19 warehouses.

The inventory will last a week if the government is the only source of the staple food. (PNA)