By MERLINDA A. PEDROSA

The Bacolod City government will start distributing rice assistance to qualified senior citizens this week under the national government’s Bagong Pilipinas Rice Program.

Mayor Greg Gasataya said the national government allocated at least P90 million for the program’s implementation in the city.

The assistance will benefit senior citizens aged 65 and above who are not receiving social pensions from either the local or national government.

Each beneficiary will receive 10 kilograms of rice in four distribution tranches.

The city is finalizing the list of beneficiaries from various barangays to determine the total number of qualified recipients.

The list will be based on senior citizens who have applied for city-issued identification cards.

Gasataya disclosed that the Bagong Pilipinas Rice Program is a national government initiative that provides assistance to vulnerable sectors through local government units, noting that in Bacolod, the program is intended exclusively for senior citizens./MAP, WDJ