DBM PRESS RELEASE
12 November 2024
Recognizing the country's security forces
Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah "Mina" F. Pangandaman commended President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for issuing Administrative Order (AO) No. 26, authorizing the one-time grant of rice assistance to all military and uniformed personnel (MUP).
The President signed AO No. 26 on 07 November 2024, providing a uniform quantity of 25 kilograms of rice to all active MUP as of 30 November 2024.
The DBM, through Sec. Mina, and the Department of Agriculture (DA) recommended the rice assistance grant to all MUPs for fiscal year (FY) 2024, in recognition of their invaluable contribution to the country, to assist them in coping with the effects of the current socio-economic challenges, and to also provide economic opportunities for those in the agriculture sector.
“Wala pong katumbas ang responsibilidad na ginagampanan ng ating mga MUP para sa seguridad ng bansa kaya noong malaman po natin na sobrang importante sa kanila ang pagkakaroon ng rice assistance, lalo na sa mga naka-destino sa malalayong probinsya at liblib na lugar, inirekomenda po natin ito sa Pangulo,” Secretary Mina shared.
"Taos-puso po akong nagpapasalamat kay Pangulong Bongbong Marcos dahil agaran n'ya pong tinugunan ang pangangailangan ng ating mga MUP," she added.
Rice assistance will be distributed to authorized representatives of MUPs from December 2024 to March 2025 in designated National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses, based on a schedule set by NFA.
Meanwhile, the rice assistance will be sourced from local and participating farmers of the Kadiwa ni Ani at Kita or Kadiwa program of the DA.
“Maganda rin po itong programa na ito dahil hindi lang military and uniformed personnel ang matutulungan kundi pati na rin ang mga local farmers natin,” Sec. Mina said.
AO No. 26 covers the Armed Forces of the Philippines under the Department of National Defense, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and Philippine Public Safety College under the Department of the Interior and Local Government, as well as Bureau of Corrections under the Department of Justice, Philippine Coast Guard under the Department of Transportation, and National Mapping and Resource Information Authority under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The funding requirement for the grant of the rice assistance shall be charged against the Contingent Fund under the FY 2024 General Appropriations Act, subject to compliance with relevant laws, rules, and regulations.
The Order takes effect immediately following its complete publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.
###
