MANILA -- Employees and workers in government rendering services through job orders (JO), contracts of service (COS) or other similarly situated working arrangements are eligible to receive the one-time rice assistance authorized by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. through Administrative Order No. 2.

The President’s order authorizes the release of assistance to individuals and groups of people engaged through JO, COS, or other similar working setup defined under the Commission on Audit-Department of Budget and Management Joint Circular (JC) No.2 dated October 20, 2020, as amended.

Civilian personnel in national government agencies (NGAs), including those in state universities and colleges (SUCs), government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), government financial institutions (GFIs), government instrumentalities with corporate powers, and government corporate entities occupying regular, contractual or casual positions may also be granted assistance.

Military, police, fire and jail personnel may also be given support along with the Bureau of Corrections, Philippine Coast Guard and National Mapping and Resource Information Authority employees.

To receive the rice assistance, the beneficiaries must be in government service or must be engaged with government agencies as of November 30, 2022.

Among those not eligible for the support are consultants and experts engaged for a limited period to perform activities or services with expected outputs, as well as laborers working under job contracts (pakyaw) and those who are being paid on a piecework basis.

Student workers, apprentices, and workers hired through an institutional contract of service who are assigned to government agencies are not entitled to receive the assistance.

The rice assistance for NGAs, military, and uniformed personnel will be funded by the Contingent Fund under R.A. No. 11639 or the General Appropriations Acts for the Fiscal year 2022.

For GOCCs, funding will come from their respective approved operating budgets for the fiscal year 2022.

Employees, COS, and JO workers in the local government units (LGUs) may be granted rice assistance depending on the LGU’s financial capability subject to the provisions of the Local Government Code of 1991.

Similar workers in local water districts may also receive the rice support through their respective Board of Directors (BOD) chargeable against their respective BOD-approved fiscal year corporate operating budget (COB) only. 

Employees, COS and JO workers in agencies exempted from the coverage of R.A. No. 6758 as Amended or the “Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989” may also be given the assistance for the determination of their governing board or agency heads chargeable against the agencies’ available funds and GOCC’s COB for this year. (PND)