Caraga tricycle, jeepney drivers can now buy P20/kilo rice
By Mariesh F. Celedeña
BUTUAN CITY (PIA) — The government, through the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., continues to expand the reach of its subsidized rice initiative as tricycle and jeepney drivers are now included among the beneficiaries of the P20/kilo rice program in the Caraga region.
Regional Manager Leo V. Damole of the National Food Authority (NFA) Caraga announced this during an interview with the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga on April 14.
The program previously served solo parents, senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), indigent households, rice farmers and farmworkers, and fisherfolk. With the ongoing National Energy Emergency, transport workers have been added to the list amid rising fuel and food costs.
“The inclusion aims to ease the financial burden on the transport sector, one of the groups most affected by increasing fuel prices and the rising cost of basic commodities such as rice,” Manager Damole said. “Qualified beneficiaries may visit the designated NFA warehouses strategically located in the different areas of the region to purchase rice at P20 per kilo.”
He emphasized that each beneficiary can purchase up to 10 kilos of rice, although the total monthly allocation may vary, depending on the category.
To avail of the subsidized rice, jeepney drivers must present their valid driver’s license issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) or a franchise-based ID endorsed by their local transport cooperative. Tricycle drivers, on the other hand, are required to present their tricycle operator’s permit (TOP) along with their valid driver’s license.
Damole disclosed that in the first quarter of this year, NFA Caraga released a total of 21,823 sacks of rice across the region. He also shared the weekly distribution schedules of the NFA warehouses in the region.
At the NFA warehouse in Libertad, Butuan City, the weekly distribution schedules are as follows:
• Monday – farmers
• Tuesday – senior citizens
• Wednesday – PWDs, solo parents, and drivers
• Thursday – indigent households/4Ps beneficiaries
• Friday – senior citizens
Damole added that aside from the NFA warehouse in Butuan City beneficiaries may visit the other warehouses available in several areas in the region, including San Jose in Dinagat Islands, Kilometer 10 in Surigao City, and in the cities of Bayugan and Tandag. (MFC, PIA Caraga)
