FIRST lady Liza Araneta-Marcos returned on Wednesday to Quezon City, this time in Barangay Pagasa, for another rollout of her “Mula sa Puso para sa Pamilya” rice distribution program.
Accompanied by Mayor Joy Belmonte, ex-District 6 congressman Kit Belmonte (the mayor’s first cousin), and Barangay Chairman Chinggay Bilaos, the first lady distributed 10-kilogram bags of rice to over 1,300 beneficiaries.
She mingled with the residents as she shared a message of solidarity, compassion and hope.
She also cited the importance of helping families meet their daily food needs.
“As a mother myself, I know how essential it is to have food on our table. Even if this assistance is modest, I hope it goes a long way,” the first lady told the beneficiaries in Filipino.
“I hope this will help ease your burden in the days to come, and with this, we can be of help to you,” she added.
Telling the residents how lucky they were with Mayor Belmonte, whom she described as “very hardworking for her constituents” and an excellent speaker, the first lady asked for understanding if she could not speak long before the crowd, as she always feels nervous.
Belmonte thanked the first lady for distributing rice assistance to her constituents amid rising commodity costs driven by conflict in the Middle East.
She said more “QCitizens” would benefit from the rice distribution program, as the first lady — inspired by the simple belief that “every Filipino family deserves food on the table” — was also set to visit Barangay Monica on Friday for the program.
Last Monday, the first lady and the city chief executive led the first rollout of the weeklong rice distribution program in Doña Imelda village.
Belmonte said the rice distribution program is funded through the Local Government Support Fund in the amount of P462.9 million, released by the Office of the President to the city government.
She told The Manila Times that a total of 210,455 QCitizen families would benefit from the first lady’s rice distribution program.
The rice subsidy initiative also supports local farmers through direct procurement, she said.
The mayor said that the local government has used the Sagip Saka Act to source rice directly from farmer cooperatives, helping both consumers and agricultural producers.
