A total of 315,367 household-beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the CALABARZON Region receive their first rice subsidy this March 2017.

 

The rice subsidy is provided as cash allowance amounting to PhP600 per household per month or PhP7,200 per year. The provision of said allowance is in accordance to President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s directive in his first State of the Nation Address last July 2016 to address hunger and poverty among the poor families in the country.

 

This cash allowance is given on top of the regular cash grants on health and education of the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya who are active and compliant to the conditions of the program.

 

Similar to the regular cash grants, the provision of rice subsidy is conditional and is subject to the household’s compliance to any of the conditions of the program such as 85 percent monthly school attendance of children, monthly preventive health checkup of children and monthly attendance to Family Development Sessions of parent-grantees.

 

In the ongoing cash grant payout this month, each compliant household-beneficiary receive PhP600 on top of their regular cash grants for the month of January 2017. The beneficiaries will receive succeeding allowances for the months of February to December 2017 on scheduled payouts in May, July, September and November 2017 and January and March 2018.

 

In the CALABARZON Region, a total of PhP185.20 Million has been released to cover the rice subsidy for the month of January of the said number of household beneficiaries.

 

In line with the provision of this additional cash allowance to beneficiaries, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) calls for the proper use of this fund among our beneficiaries.

 

In a statement issued by DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo, the agency trusts that the beneficiaries will use the cash allowance to buy rice as it is the intended purpose of the subsidy. However, the public can report misuse of the subsidy to the DSWD through grievance hotlines 09189122813 or 3456.

 

To date, beneficiaries are ensured of getting the rice subsidy for the year 2017 as it is already funded under the 2017 General Appropriations Act. The rice subsidy for 2018 onwards will be subject to the availability of funds as approved by the Congress.xxx