• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
In line with the 68th birthday of President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr today (September 13), the Office of the President and the Department of Agriculture (DA) will be selling rice at P20 per kilo at the Provincial Capitol grounds in Bacolod City, on a first-come-first-serve basis.
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 to avail of subsidized rice.
Engr. Jose Albert Barrogo, DA regional director for Negros Island Region, disclosed that 300 sacks of rice, equivalent to 15,000 kilos, will be sold, at 10 kilos per individual, in line with the Handog ng Pangulo Program.
It is open to everybody, Barrogo said.
The DA-NIR is also distributing P150 million worth of farm machineries, equipment, facilities, and other farm inputs to different farmer’s cooperatives in Negros Occidental, he added.
The selling of rice at P20 per kilo and distribution of farm equipment and facilities, which form part of the one-day caravan of services to be held today, spearheaded by the Office of the President
Launched in 2024, the Handog ng Pangulo program 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 published by the Presidential News Desk on September 9, President 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.*
