Several companies employing minimum wage earners in Negros Occidental are set to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) to avail of the P20 per kilo of rice for their workers.

In an interview yesterday, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Negros Occidental Provincial Head Carmela Abellar said their office is helping facilitate the processing of the companies’ requirements for inclusion in the “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na” program.

“We announced it, some signified interest, we gathered and consolidated their orders. The Department of Agriculture [DA] is preparing the advice for the National Food Authority,” Abellar said.

She noted that most of the companies that signified interest to avail the P20 per kilo of rice are manpower agencies and sugar mills that hire laborers.

The DA earlier said it would allocate 1.2 million kilos of rice monthly for 120,000 minimum wage earners in the country.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said that under the proposed deal, FTI’s partner companies will shoulder the logistics cost.

Based on the agreement, the companies will pay the FTI for their rice sale under the “BBM Na” program.

The P20 per kilo of rice was initially made available to members of the vulnerable sector, which include senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and members of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

Last June 5, Bacolod City launched the P20 per kilo of rice program at the Burgos North Public Market.

The initial rollout included 5,880 sacks of rice worth P7.971 million that was sold in major public markets and in the city’s 61 barangays. (PNA)