THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) received additional rice donations from the Republic of Korea intended to support the national government's relief efforts for poor and vulnerable families in Metro Manila and neighboring areas who have been affected by the community quarantine due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The donation, composed of 200 metric tons of locally produced and well-milled rice, is valued at US$200,000 or almost P10 million.
The donation, made possible through the Emergency Rice Support Project (ERSP) of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica), is the second rice donation by the Korean government to the country through the DSWD.
On July 17, 2020, DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista received US$200,000 worth of rice equivalent to 200 metric tons of rice from Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Han Dong-man in a simple turnover ceremony held at the DSWD National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City.
The rice stocks were sourced from Filipino farmers from Panay Island or Western Visayas. These include Koica's partners, namely, the Municipal Local Government Unit of San Miguel, Iloilo; San Miguel Farmers Agriculture Cooperative; Iloilo Rice Processing Complex in Pototan, Iloilo; and other local farmer cooperatives.
DSWD-NROC received the first batch of the rice donation on October 1, with 40 metric tons or 800 bags of rice and the second batch on October 3, with 80 metric tons or 1,600 bags of rice. The third and fourth batches, composed of 80 metric tons or 1,600 bags of rice, arrived on October 22 and 25.
The rice donation will be repacked by DSWD and will form a part of the Department's Family Food Packs (FFPs), which are being provided as resource augmentation support to local government units to help them respond to the food needs of their constituents.
A total of 33,334 FFPs, with six kilograms of rice each, will be produced through the rice donation. The FFPs will be distributed to the same number of households or to 166,670 individuals who have been affected by the pandemic.
DSWD thanked the Government of the Republic of Korea once again for the aid and said the donation reflects the South Korean people's utmost consideration and thoughtful concern for Filipinos in need.
Ambassador Han noted that the donation is part of the "Stay Strong, Build Trust Together" campaign of the Korean Government, supporting the global fight against Covid-19.
"We are in solidarity with the Philippine Government during this time of the pandemic," the ambassador said.
DSWD assured that all efforts will be exerted to ensure that the donated rice will reach the intended beneficiaries to help them cope with the effects of the Covid-19 crisis.
