Minimum-wage earners selected for P20 subsidized-rice program

AN INITIAL 120,000 minimum-wage earners were selected as beneficiaries of the P20-per-kilo rice program, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The first batch of beneficiaries was taken from a list compiled by the Department of Labor and Employment. They are employed by companies that have expressed interest in participating in the program and will be eligible to buy up to 10 kilos of subsidized rice per month, Agriculture spokesman Arnel V. de Mesa told reporters.

The distribution of rice for minimum-wage earners has yet to be determined, though the DA is considering deliveries to the beneficiaries’ workplaces, he said.

Food Terminal, Inc. has a P500-million budget for the logistics costs of the rice distribution, he added.

Agriculture Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. met on Tuesday with Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma to discuss the rice program’s expansion to minimum-wage earners.

“For now, participation is limited to workers from companies that have expressed interest in the pilot program,” Mr. Tiu Laurel said in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr. De Mesa said the DA is still working on a mechanism to prevent duplication of beneficiaries, because some minimum-wage workers could also be eligible under other categories, such as solo parents.

The P20-per-kilo rice program, supplied from the reserves of the National Food Authority, is currently only available to indigents, senior citizens, solo parents, and persons with disabilities. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza