Around 2,500 qualified residents of Sta. Magdalena town in Sorsogon availed of rice priced at PHP20 per kilogram during the rollout of the government’s “Benteng Bigas Meron Na” program.
In a report on Thursday, Lovella Guarin, Department of Agriculture (DA) Bicol spokesperson, said the launch at the Sta. Magdalena Municipal Covered Court is part of the PHP20 Rice Program under the initiative of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., aimed at providing affordable rice to vulnerable sectors.
Eligible beneficiaries were allowed to purchase up to 10 kilograms of rice each. These include senior citizens, solo parents, persons with disabilities, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries, public utility vehicle drivers, farmers, fisherfolk, minimum wage earners, public school teachers and Department of Education non-teaching personnel.
During the rollout, Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) Vice President for Operations Mark Christopher Babor encouraged provincial and municipal local government units, as well as farmers’ cooperatives and associations operating Kadiwa stores, to seek accreditation with the FTI to enable them to participate in the sale of PHP20-per-kilogram rice.
The event also marked the start of the digital registration of program beneficiaries in Sta. Magdalena and the province through the PHP20 Benteng Bigas Masterlist Registry System, a web-based application developed by the DA’s Information and Communication Technology Service.
The system brings together the nationwide database of PHP20 Rice Program beneficiaries to support efficient monitoring and implementation of the government’s subsidized rice initiative.
Meanwhile, the distribution of the Presidential Assistance for Farmers and Fisherfolk Program (PAFF) to qualified rice and corn farmers in Oas, Albay continued on Thursday.
An estimated 509 farmers will receive the aid in the said town.
The PAFF program aims to provide direct financial assistance, which is expected to support their livelihoods and strengthen rice and corn production in the region. (PNA)
