285 Agusan Sur woodworkers thank local launching of P20/kilo rice
By Niña Jonalyn Gambe-Diamante
BUTUAN CITY (PIA) — At least 285 union members of the Agriwood Development Resource Corporation Workers Union benefitted from the ‘Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na’ program launching in Barangay Talacogon, Agusan del Sur held in late July this year. The initiative provided a much-needed and appreciated solution to the food insecurity affecting minimum wage earners.
The ‘Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na!’ otherwise known as the ‘P20 rice project’ is a program implemented to realize the election promise of President Bongbong “PBBM” Marcos Jr. lowering the price of rice to 20 pesos per kilo, thereby promoting food security all over the country reaching even the smallest barangays.
The said rice project was implemented through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) signed by the concerned government agencies of the Agusan del Sur province, namely: the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Agriculture (DA), National Food Authority (NFA), and Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI).
The local government of Talacogon likewise showed their support to the program by providing the venue for the repacking of rice and assisted in its distribution to the beneficiaries.
According to Buhawe Corvera-Correa, provincial head of DOLE Agusan del Sur, their agency’s mandate of uplifting the welfare of workers, most especially the marginalized, motivated them to target minimum wage earners in the region to be the primary beneficiaries of the P20 rice project.
“Our target for Caraga is to be able to distribute 2,000 sacks of rice all over the region. For Agusan del Sur, we have already distributed 2,850 kilos of rice to a group of minimum wage earners during its launching,” said Corvera.
Each beneficiary is allowed to purchase a maximum of 10 kilos of rice priced at 20 pesos per kilo on a monthly basis to ensure that the exceptionally low priced rice is enjoyed by a wider population.
On behalf
of the entire union, Borjel Salvador, president of the Agriwood Development
Resource Corporation Workers Union, thanked the organizers of the rice project
launching and most especially the president himself for being the brainchild of
the initiative.
“We are
indeed very happy to be the first in Agusan del Sur to avail of the 20 pesos
per kilo of rice. This will enable us to save money from buying such low priced
rice instead of the usual 50 to 60 pesos per kilo retail price in the market,”
he expressed with utmost gratitude.
“Instead of buying one kilo of rice worth 60 pesos, we can now buy two kilos of rice and an excess of 20 pesos for the viand with a 60-peso budget. We are hoping that this program will continue to be available for us most especially since more and more people who are also earning minimum wage, are coming to us asking when the next batch of 20-peso-rice will be offered again,” Salvador expounded.
DOLE Caraga Director Jason P. Balais, urged more and more employers with minimum wage workers to partner with them in bringing the affordable rice to their employees.
“Any particular company, through DOLE’s encouragement and efforts, may signify their interest to avail of the P20 rice project. Once the MOA between the company and FTI has been established, they will now be authorized to withdraw rice from our NFA warehouses across the region,” he shared.
Moreover, the P20 rice being sold in the market is known to be locally produced, according to Director Balais, enabling the government to hit two birds with one stone—ensuring food security for low-income communities and supporting the livelihood of local farmers by patronizing their produce. (NJGD/PIA Caraga with a report from DOLE Caraga and Agusan del Sur)