MALAYBALAY CITY (PIA)--The National Food Authority (NFA)-Bukidnon has officially started distributing the One-Time Grant of Rice Assistance (OTRA) to employees of national government agencies (NGAs) and state universities and colleges (SUCs), as well as military and uniformed personnel.

This initiative is under Administrative Order No. 2, following the Department of Budget and Management's (DBM) list of beneficiaries.

Supervising Grains Officer Junrie T. Dumas of NFA Bukidnon said around 26,000 government employee beneficiaries province-wide could receive the allocated NFA rice.

"Our main goal is to prioritize those Bukidnon government workers listed based on the contingent fund released by DBM. We have identified 26,000 beneficiaries who will each receive 25 kilos of NFA rice," he said.

Meanwhile, NFA-Bukidnon spokesperson Glenn de Otoy said the OTRA is an initiative of the Marcos Administration to recognize the invaluable contribution and participation of every government employee and worker in efficiently delivering public services, especially during the pandemic.

De Otoy clarified that beneficiaries should be legitimate employees from November 30, 2022, to date.

"Sa One-Time Grant of Rice Assistance (OTRA) guidelines, giklaro didto nga ang recipient, dapat legitimate nga empleyado sugod November 30, 2022. Kung na-hire ka after ana nga petsa, dili na ka makaapil aning OTRA," he explained.

(The OTRA guidelines clearly stated that individuals eligible for rice assistance must have been legitimate employees as of November 30, 2022. You will lose your OTRA eligibility if you are hired after the specified period)

He emphasized that the program grants assistance in the form of 25 kilos of rice to those working in the government to help mitigate the effect of socio-economic challenges in their households and to boost the domestic production of our local farmers by giving opportunities to the agricultural sectors.

The National Food Authority, the government's arm responsible for implementing the OTRA, urges local Palay farmers to continue supporting the agency's procurement programs. This support is vital to ensuring an optimal level of buffer stock inventory, which in turn helps meet the government's rice requirements during initiatives such as the OTRA. Moreover, it plays a critical role during times of calamities and emergencies. (BGE/PIA-10/Bukidnon)