RICE, rights, raffles First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos (center) personally leads the distribution of rice to residents at the Novaliches District Center in Jordan Plains Subdivision, Barangay Sta. Monica, Quezon City, on Friday. Beyond sacks of rice, beneficiaries also received raffle prizes — including rice cookers, television sets and additional rice.
PHOTO courtesy of Liza Marcos/FB
A total of 3,300 families received 10 kilos of quality rice each under First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos’ “Mula sa Puso Para sa Pamilya” initiative, as she capped a week-long series of community visits with a distribution in Barangay Sta. Monica, Novaliches, Quezon City.
The Novaliches distribution marked the final stop of the week’s rollout, which brought the First Lady to several communities in Quezon City and Manila to provide food assistance to vulnerable families.
Barangay Sta. Monica Chairperson Charlie Manalad welcomed the initiative, saying it reached its intended beneficiaries and would continue to provide support through succeeding distribution rounds.
Barangay kagawad Celso de los Santos said some 1,300 beneficiaries attended Friday’s distribution, while the program covered 3,300 recipients across the 14 barangays in Quezon City’s Fifth District.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte thanked the First Lady and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for extending the assistance to city residents, noting that each beneficiary will receive 10 kilos of rice every two months for four distribution cycles.
Proudly Filipino
Belmonte said the rice distributed under the program was sourced directly from Filipino farmers, allowing the initiative to assist vulnerable families while supporting the livelihoods of local rice producers.
Among the beneficiaries was 52-year-old Celso Garrett, a person with disability who underwent kidney surgery and was forced to stop working as a driver. Despite his condition, he continues to support his child who is attending college.
“This is important to me as a person with a disability. That’s why I am grateful to our First Lady. All we need is to continue trusting our government,” Garay said.
The event also featured raffle draws where beneficiaries won additional prizes, including sacks of rice, rice cookers, and a television set.
Under the “Mula sa Puso Para sa Pamilya” (From the Heart, For the Family) initiative, beneficiaries receive 10 kilos of quality rice per distribution as part of the government’s continuing effort to ease the burden on vulnerable families while promoting the purchase of rice from local farmers.
