57,000 transport workers set to access P20/kg rice

TRANSPORT WORKERS will be eligible to purchase subsidized government rice at P20 per kilogram (kg) starting Sept. 16 (Tuesday), the Department of Agriculture said.

It said the expected number of beneficiaries is about 57,000, with the initial distribution sites identified as follows: The Bureau of Animal Industry in Quezon City for 17,633 beneficiaries; the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority in Navotas City for 1,001 beneficiaries; Barangay Pandan, Angeles City, Pampanga for 9,961 beneficiaries; Food Terminal, Inc. in Cebu City for 24,742 beneficiaries; and Tagum City, Davao del Norte for 3,650 beneficiaries.

The departments of Transportation and Interior and Local Government and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board are assisting with the distribution.

Future distribution areas will include the Bureau of Animal Industry and Agricultural Development Center in Quezon City, the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division (AMAD) office in Cebu, the Food Terminal, Inc. warehouse in Angeles, and the AMAD office in Tagum.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said in a statement: “This is more than a food program. It’s a promise being fulfilled — a fight against hunger that meets people where they are.”

The program was initially rolled out for senior citizens, solo parents, persons with disabilities, and indigent households. It has since been expanded to minimum-wage earners, farmers, and fisherfolk. Set to join at a later date are public school teachers, non-teaching education department staff, and Walang Gutom program beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Mr. Laurel said that President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. plans to expanding the market to 15 million households by 2026 and to continue expanding until the end of his term in 2028. — Andre Christopher H. Alampay