The government’s PHP20 per kilogram rice program under the “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na” is now available in 427 Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) sites and accredited stalls nationwide, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the program fulfills President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s promise to make rice more affordable for Filipinos.
“When we launched the program in May, our modest target was 136 sites in 13 provinces. Today, we have 427 sites nationwide—with two months still to go,” Tiu Laurel said in a press statement.
Beneficiaries include members of the vulnerable sectors like Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program (4Ps), senior citizens, persons with disabilities and solo parents.
Access was also expanded to indigenous peoples, low-income earners, farmers and fisherfolk, public transport workers and beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Walang Gutom initiative.
Tiu Laurel said the BBM Na rice program has already reached all 81 provinces, with Tawi-Tawi being the only province where a launch is pending.
More P20 sites will be opened in Aklan, Capiz, Catanduanes, Davao Oriental, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Sarangani and Sulu within November.
BBM Na sites in Tawi-tawi, likewise, will be launched in December, according to the DA. (PNA)