A total of 2,044 farmers from the municipality of San Miguel, Leyte were given cash aid worth more than P10 million Friday as part of a program seeking to aid struggling farmers under the Marcos administration.
Officials of the offices from Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez and Tingog Partylist of Reps. Yedda K. Romualdez and Jude Acidre, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) led the distribution of financial aid worth P5,000 for each of the farmer-beneficiaries in San Miguel under the Farmers’ Assistance for Recovery and Modernization (FARM) Program.
“This program is part of the directive of our beloved President Bongbong Marcos Jr. for the government to reach out to sectors that need support especially if many of them are poor,” said Romualdez, leader of the 300-plus-strong House of Representatives.
“Your government knows the hardship you are facing, especially this El Niño season where all crops are affected. So may this aid ease your suffering and help you recover in the coming seasons,” he added.
The distribution was undertaken at the San Miguel Municipal Gymnasium, with Mayor Norman Sabdao and SB Leticia Asis Espos present during the ceremony.
The FARM program is an initiative of Speaker Romualdez designed to lower the price of rice by utilizing and maximizing existing government interventions available to farmers.
The financial aid to San Miguel farmers, which totaled P10.22 million, was sourced from the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) of the DSWD.
Romualdez said that based on studies, prices of basic commodities increase if the price of rice increases.
The FARM Program not only provides assistance to farmers, but also to address the National Food Authority’s (NFA) predicament in accomplishing its mandate to increase its buffer stock, which can be used in case of emergencies as the farmer-beneficiaries are encouraged to sell at least 100 kilos of their rice harvest to the NFA.
“We established this program so the government can reciprocate your heroism in helping millions of Filipino families put food on the table. Para kay Pangulong Marcos Jr., mahalaga po ang bawat Pilipino at kasama kayong lahat doon (For President Marcos Jr., every Filipino is important and that includes all of you),” Romualdez said.