In line with the shared commitment to uplifting the lives of the Filipino people, the coverage of “Benteng Bigas Meron Na” is now expanded to the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with the minimum wage earners of ADRISTE Philippines, Inc. located at the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) – Baguio in Loakan, as pilot batch for the project.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-CAR Regional Director Imelda Romanillos, Department of Agriculture (DA)-CAR Regional Executive Director Atty. Jennilyn M. Dawayan, National Food Authority (NFA)-CAR Acting Regional Manager Liza Balagot, and Engr. Joseph Galong of the Baguio City Economic Zone led the launching of the P20 Rice Project at PEZA-Baguio today, June 13.
The P20 rice launching is a simultaneous nationwide activity initiated by DOLE with the minimum wage earners as beneficiaries. According to Dir. Romanillos, today’s launching benefitted 185 workers of ADRESTI, a leather gloves and knitted products manufacturing company, located at PEZA-Baguio. In CAR, about 1,500 total minimum wage earners are set to benefit from the affordable rice until December 2025. Under the P20 Rice Project, each beneficiary can buy up to 10 kilograms of subsidized rice per month at 20 pesos/kilo.
The Benteng Bigas Meron Na! is part of the Rice-for-All Nationwide Program spearheaded by the DA and subsidized through the Food Terminal Inc., which aims to provide affordable and quality rice among the vulnerable sectors including the minimum wage earners. It seeks to ease the impact of rising food prices by offering subsidized NFA rice identified beneficiaries.
In her message, DA-CAR Dir. Dawayan thanked the partner agencies who enabled the pilot rollout of the P20 rice project in CAR. She underscored that the subsidized rice come from the reserves of the NFA which were also bought from the produce of local rice farmers in the region, particularly from Kalinga and Apayao. She thanked the assisted rice farmers’ groups and clusters for their continued commitment and support to the various programs of the government such as the subsidized rice program and the Kadiwa Ng Pangulo.
Dir. Dawayan assured that the DA is committed to lowering the price of basic commodities but, at the same time, ensuring that the farmers can earn the amount that they deserve.
The DA-CAR Chief also expressed her gratitude to the Cordillera Association of Regional Executives (CARE) for their receptiveness and continued support to the DA’s programs and projects, particularly the Kadiwa, for patronizing the local agricultural products in the region.//JBAgrifino