DSWD integrates P20/kilo rice program into Food Stamp Program
‘BENTE BIGAS’HERE The sale of the government’s P20per kilo rice started at the Cebu provincial capitol grounds in Cebu City on May 1 under the “Benteng Bigas Meron Na!” program. Afresh shipment of 35,000bags of rice from the National Food Authority ensures that the program will be sustained. —PHOTO COURTESY OF SUGBO NEWS
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Tuesday said it has already begun integrating the P20-per-kilo rice program into its Food Stamp Program in an effort to further reduce the number of food-poor Filipinos.
READ: P20 rice opened to minimum wage earners
Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian made the announcement after sharing that the DSWD’s Food Stamp Program has reduced hunger incidence among the food-poor.
“Just yesterday afternoon, Secretary [Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.] and I talked, and we will now obtain the lists of accredited retailers,” Gatchalian said at a Palace press conference.
Accredited retailers of the P20-per-kilo rice program include Kadiwa centers and small agricultural cooperatives, Gatchalian said.
“That will now be supplied there—they will be given a supply of the affordable P20 rice, so with their food credits, they can buy even more,” he added.
This is in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive that no department should operate without coordinating with others, ensuring that programs are aligned across departments, Gatchalian said.
When asked about the start of the P20 rice sale for Food Stamp Program beneficiaries, Gatchalian said it “has begun.”
“We’ve given the list to the Department of Agriculture, and they’re now going to make sure that these retailers, around 1,000 of them for now, receive the affordable rice, so they can distribute it to our food-poor beneficiaries,” he added./mcm
