The Negros Occidental provincial government has no plan to give rice allowance to its employees, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Sunday, September 18.
It’s not in the provincial budget, the governor said, in reaction to a report from Manila quoting Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban as saying that the government will soon provide rice allowance to state workers to help them cope with the rising cost of living.
Panganiban was quoted as saying that the Department of Agriculture will draft the implementing rules and regulations for the distribution of the rice allowance in compliance with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Lacson said the rice allowance is a national government initiative, what is mandated for the local governments to implement is the salary increase.*