Taking a bus would be difficult for her, so they have no choice but to take an almost 3-hour arduous drive as they travel slowly owing to Monina’s delicate condition.

Arriving at the lobby of the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) on time, the processing took some minutes. In no time, Monina was already holding her P15,000 cash assistance smilingly in a Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) photo documentation.

She had all her documents ready: Business Processing Licensing Office (BPLO) registration, mayor’s permit license, and identification cards.  

Monina is just one of the 211 micro-rice retailers qualified to receive the Emergency Subsidy Program (ESP) in the second scheduled payout facilitated by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the DSWD on September 21, 2023.

When asked what to do with the assistance received, she straightforwardly said, “P10,000 will go to purchasing rice as capital and the other P5,000 for rice seeds.”

She noted that they must obey Executive Order 39, which placed a ceiling price on regular-milled rice at P41.00 and well-milled rice at P45.

“So we marked down our rice prices. We have to follow the policy of the president,” she said.

In an act of fairness and more than complying with the government’s order, Monina sold their well-milled rice at only P44 and other varieties at lower prices when cheaper rice supplies came in. 

Regular-milled is now only P40 at her rice store. 

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Regional Director Arwin Razo said there are now 249 rice retailers in the province who have received their rice retail assistance.