Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Wednesday that the distribution of free rice to Bacolod residents who have not received their shares yet will resume on Saturday, September 16.
The city government distributed rice assistance to 252, 633 Bacolod residents last weekend out of its 350,000 target, he said.
Hopefully they can reach 80 percent of the target by Saturday, he said.
The recipients receive 2 kilos each as part of the city’s assistance after Typhoon Goring hit Bacolod that was placed under a state of calamity on August 30.
The mayor noted that the distribution of rice was low in areas where large subdivisions are located.
The remaining unclaimed rice after Saturday will be become part of the city’s stockpile for emergency needs, he said.
Meanwhile, Benitez expects the price of rice in Bacolod’s markets to further drop.
There is an inventory for rice to be sold at P43 a kilo, and the price is expected to further go down in the coming weeks with the start of the harvest season, he said.*