The Iloilo City Government kicked off the distribution of free rice under the national government’s “Bigay Bigas sa Masa Rice” program on Monday, June 29.
During the ceremonial launch at La Paz Plaza, Mayor Raisa Treñas thanked the national government led by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for choosing the city as among the first local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas to carry out the rice assistance program.
The city received P72 million from the national government to fund the program, with 41,958 qualified households identified to receive the assistance.
Under the program, each beneficiary household will receive 10 kilograms of rice in three scheduled tranches in June, August, and October, covering about 25 percent of households in the city.
Treñas expressed hope that the national government would increase the program’s target coverage so that more Ilonggo families could benefit from the rice assistance.
“We’re hoping nga madugangan pa ang target percentage agud mas madamo pa nga pumuluyo ang malab-ot sang sini nga bulig,” she said.
“We appreciate this program of the national government and fully support it, gani we made an effort nga madugangan ang tranches paagi sa pagdugang sang budget para naman sa Disyembre,” Treñas continued.
The city government also announced plans to finance a fourth tranche of rice distribution in December using local funds, with grocery packs expected to be included as additional Christmas assistance.
Beneficiaries of the program were identified and validated by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) in accordance with the national government’s guidelines to ensure that the assistance reaches qualified households. Jose Alphonso Ceria, WVSU-COC intern/IMT
