• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
In line with the 68th birthday of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. on Saturday (Sept. 13), the Office of the President and the Department of Agriculture (DA) are selling rice at P20 per kilo at the Provincial Capitol grounds in Bacolod City.
Dubbed “Handog ng Pangulo”, the birthday edition of the program will make affordable rice available to all Filipinos, not just vulnerable sectors, across 100 Kadiwa ng Pangulo sites nationwide.
All sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and buyers need only to present a valid ID card to avail of the subsidized rice on a first come, first served basis.
DA-Negros Island Region Regional (NIR) Director Jose Albert Barrogo said 300 sacks of rice, equivalent to 15,000 kilos, will be sold at 10 kilos per individual.
“It is open to everybody,” Barrogo said.
The DA-NIR is also distributing P150 million worth of farm machinery, equipment, facilities and other farm inputs to farmers’ cooperatives in Negros Occidental.
Launched in 2024, the “Handog ng Pangulo” underscores the Marcos administration’s commitment to delivering meaningful change and improving the lives of Filipinos especially the most vulnerable sectors of society.
In a report of the Presidential News Desk on Sept. 9, Marcos reiterated that his wish since the start of his political career has been to provide a better life for every Filipino.
He added that his greatest aspiration is for the Philippines to become a nation where no Filipino goes hungry. | GB
