Clark freeport: Minimum wage earners in the Clark Freeport Zone can now purchase rice at PHP20 per kilogram as the Department of Agriculture (DA) continues expanding its 'Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na' program. This followed the opening of a new Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) Center inside the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the initiative provides crucial support for low-income workers in one of the country's fastest-growing economic hubs.

According to Philippines News Agency, the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) Freeport hosts around 151,000 workers, about half of whom are minimum wage earners. "With approximately 151,000 employees in CDC - where around 50 percent are minimum-wage earners endorsed by DOLE - this initiative brings affordable and essential food directly to the workforce that keeps this economic hub moving," Tiu Laurel said in a statement. Besides these, the turnover of the CDC's state-of-the-art tissue culture laboratory to the DA was also conducted, which will help enhance the agency's research capabilities.

The facility is expected to support sustainability in food production and improve the quality of planting materials. Meanwhile, the PHP20 rice program is now available in 423 sites in 81 provinces nationwide, as reported by the agency. The nationwide expansion comes alongside the rollout of the Benteng Bigas Masterlist Registry System to ensure transparency and orderly distribution. To date, the DA's system logged about 35,014 registered beneficiaries.

On Friday, Tiu Laurel said the DA will further intensify its inter-agency and local government collaboration to hit its 15 million household target beneficiaries in 2026. This week, the DA aims to expand the BBM Na in the entire provinces of Western Samar and Zamboanga del Norte, where the majority of the population accounts for middle-class and below.