A total of 556 micro rice retailers in Nueva Ecija each received P15,000 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as part of the second wave of payouts.
The aid, provided under the Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) – Cash Assistance for Micro Rice Retailers, aims to alleviate the losses incurred by retailers who purchased their rice supplies at higher prices before the implementation of Executive Order No. 39, which imposed a price cap on regular milled and well-milled rice.
DSWD Region III SLP Project Development Officer Ma. Cristina Rose Sumera explained that the agency would conduct a grant utilization report to ensure beneficiaries used the money appropriately for their businesses.
Sumera noted that DSWD would personally visit stores for monitoring, and collect receipts as evidence for the P15,000 spent.
Therefore, she reminded micro rice retailers to ensure that the cash assistance from the DSWD Economic Relief Subsidy is utilized rightfully for their businesses.
Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) worked in conjunction with Business Permits and Licensing Officers, and market administrators to thoroughly identify and validate the beneficiaries slated to receive the second payout.
DTI Provincial Director Richard Simangan reported that micro rice retailers and sari-sari store owners selling regular and well-milled rice from 32 municipalities and cities in Nueva Ecija were finally included in the second payout.
Marivel Miranda, a 44-year-old rice retailer from Cabanatuan City, expressed her gratitude to DSWD and DTI for extending the cash assistance.
She would use it to buy additional stocks of rice to recover from her losses gradually.
Based on the data from DTI, there were 107 beneficiaries in the first batch, with an additional 27 in the supplemental wave, which was to accommodate those who were unable to receive the subsidy during the initial batch due to schedule conflicts and document discrepancies.
In total, 690 individuals have received the cash assistance in the province. (CLJD/MAECR-PIA 3)