THE Agricultural Product Consolidator’s Cooperative, assisted by the Iligan City Agriculture’s Office, began selling rice for P20 per kilogram to city residents at the Tambo Public Market yesterday, September 13.
City Agriculturist Office head Marie Ann J. Beley said the initiative was in celebration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s birthday and part of the “Handog ng Pangulo Program.”
“It is not the City Agriculture’s Office that is selling, but our partner cooperative, the Agricultural Product Consolidator’s Cooperative. They are the ones who are selling the rice; we are just assisting,” Beley said.
The first batch consisted of 5,000 kilograms of newly harvested rice. Beneficiaries were advised to bring valid identification and were limited to a maximum of 10 kilograms of rice per person.
Beley added that an additional 20,000 kilograms of rice is expected to arrive soon from the Food Terminal Incorporated through the National Food Authority.
“We are hoping the rice will arrive before this month ends. It’s the right time because we are celebrating the fiesta and giving Iliganons the privilege to buy cheaper rice,” she said.
Lorie Montada from Barangay Cabacsanan expressed gratitude for finally being able to buy the much-anticipated P20 per kilo rice.
“I am happy because we can buy a lot,” she said in the local dialect.
The Department of Trade and Industry also joined the activity with its “diskwento caravan program,” offering discounts on various items, including a 10% discount on rice from other local dealers and “noche buena” packages.
“We have three exhibitors, and we are so happy that people are buying, and of course, DTI is always responsive to the needs of Iliganons, especially during the birthday celebration of our President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.,” said John Clifford M. Fernan, chief of the DTI-Lanao Del Norte Consumer Protection Division.
