Batangas City 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste has distributed about ₱1 million worth of rice assistance to families who, he said, had not received government aid in previous relief programs.

Leviste said the rice subsidy came from his personal funds and not from government resources. He said the initiative was intended to ensure broader coverage of assistance and to avoid leaving out households that may have been excluded from earlier distributions.

The distribution began Monday, May 18, when Leviste turned over about 2,000 sacks of rice to churches in Batangas City. He said the churches were identified through recommendations from former Batangas governor Dodo Mandanas.

On Thursday, May 21, the lawmaker also provided rice assistance to barangay health workers, barangay personnel, and other local functionaries across the 1st district who had not received aid in the initial rollout of the provincial government’s assistance program.

Leviste said 84 barangays were not included in the “Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” program initiated under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He added that he plans to extend rice distribution efforts to cover barangays that were not reached by that program.