DSWD, the Department of Agriculture and the National Food Authority will be mandated to distribute the rice subsidy under the 4Ps program.
The House Committee on Agriculture and Food yesterday approved the joint resolution authorizing the use of the 2019 budget for rice subsidy under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the purchase of palay from local farmers.
The panel chaired by Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga agreed to elevate the still unnumbered House joint resolution to the plenary which mandates the DSWD, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Food Authority (NFA) to distribute the rice subsidy under the 4Ps program in the form of actual kilos of rice instead of cash grants to help farmers affected by the declining palay price.
Enverga said he hopes that President Rodrigo Duterte will certify the resolution as urgent as he stressed the need to pass the measure as it is now harvest season.
“We are hoping that the executive department sees its importance and its timeliness. We have farmers who still harvest in November and December. There is still time,” he said as he hopes the NFA would be able to purchase from farmers soon.
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Under the 2019 General Appropriations Act, there is a total of P33.9 billion for rice subsidies under the 4Ps, wherein according to the DSWD, a balance currently of at least P6.97 billion remained undisbursed under the rice subsidy program.
DSWD grants subsidies in form of financial assistance in the amount of P600 per month, equivalent to 20 kilos of rice.
Gemma Gabuya, DSWD director, said the agency will distribute rice to 4Ps beneficiaries in six pilot regions namely Regions I to VI, as recommended by Sen. Cynthia Villar during the hearing on the same resolution.
The beneficiaries from other regions will still get cash, according to the official.
