Minimum wage earners can also buy P20/kilo rice

LABOR DAY GIFT Rice is sold at P20 per kilo on the Cebu Capitol grounds as the Department of Agriculture (DA) launches the affordable rice program in the province on May 1. —DA Central Visayas/Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Minimum wage earners from selected firms may soon benefit from the government’s subsidized rice program as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor and Employment have agreed in principle to include them in its pilot run starting next month.

“For now, participation is limited to workers from companies that have expressed interest in the pilot program,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said on Tuesday.

The P20-per-kilogram rice is sold in Kadiwa stores in selected areas and by participating local government units. /cb —Jordeene B. Lagare