MORE Filipinos will have access to cheaper rice as 41 Kadiwa ng Pangulo sites will sell mixed local and imported well-milled rice for PHP43 per kilogram under the Rice for All program, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Thursday.
The lowering of price for the Rice for All to PHP43/kg, from the current PHP45/kg, will coincide with the expansion of the program, along with the P29 program, or the sale of aging but good quality rice stocks from the National Food Authority (NFA) to senior citizens, beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), persons with disabilities (PWDs), and solo parents.
“We will be adding 20 new additional sites beginning tomorrow (Friday), and by the end of the year, an additional 169 sites. Hopefully, we can reach more than 1,500 na kabuuan po natin na Kadiwa,” DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in a press conference at the agency’s press office in Quezon City.
In addition to the 21 existing Kadiwa ng Pangulo sites, the expanded operations of Rice for All and P29 will include Ocean Fish – Barangay 8, Barangay 28 Zone 3, Site 1, and Barangay 28 Zone 3 Caloocan City – Site 2 in Caloocan City; Kalt Alles – NFPC-PFDA (Navotas Fish Port Complex-Philippine Fisheries Development Authority), North Bay Boulevard, North Navotas, Navotas; Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources – Longos, 18 Tuazon, Barangay Potrero, and Kalt Alles – Potrero in, Malabon; and Barangay. Daang Bakal, Barangay Hulo, and Barangay Addition Hills in Mandaluyong.
Also included are BFCT Bagsakan, No. 1 Marcos Hi-way, Brgy. Tanong, Fortune Barangay Hall, Barangay Fortune, and Concepcion Uno Barangay Hall, Concepcion Uno in Marikina City; Lot 12 Blk 4 R Thaddeus St. Marietta Romeo Village Barangay Sta. Lucia in Pasig City; No 4 Geronimo, Philand Drive, Barangay Pasong Tamo, Zamora St. Cor A. Bonifacio, Barangay Sta. Lucia, Alley 4, Bulacan St., Barangay Payatas B, and Sauyo in Quezon City; as well as Barangay Canlubang, Calamba in Laguna.
The DA said these areas are prioritized considering the density of target beneficiaries, as well as the availability of permanent or semi-permanent structures that can store rice stocks and other agricultural commodities.
As of Wednesday, the Rice for All and P29 programs have benefited 142,829 households from the existing 21 Kadiwa ng Pangulo sites. (PNA)
