BACOLOD City — First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos led the ceremonial distribution of the second tranche of the national government’s rice assistance program for qualified senior citizens in Bacolod City on Friday, August 14, 2026.
The initiative aims to help ease the daily expenses of elderly residents by providing 10 kilograms of rice to each qualified beneficiary under the national government’s “Sa Bagong Pilipinas, Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” initiative.
The distribution was held at the STI Gym, with Marcos joined by Bacolod City Lone District Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Mayor Greg Gasataya.
Gasataya said around 35,000 senior citizens aged 65 and above in Bacolod are qualified to receive the assistance, provided they are not beneficiaries of social pension from either the local or national government.
The rice assistance will be distributed in four tranches this year. The first tranche was released in July, followed by the second tranche this August. The third tranche is scheduled for October, while the final distribution will be held in November.
Upon completion of the four tranches, each qualified senior citizen will receive a total of 40 kilograms of rice.
“This is a small thing, but I hope this will be able to help in the days to come,” Araneta-Marcos said during the ceremony.
“Nandito kami para magbigay ng bigas. Bilang isang ina, alam ko na mahalaga na may pagkain sa lamesa,” she added.
Gasataya said around 2,000 senior citizens from communities near the STI Gym received the rice assistance during Friday’s distribution.
He added that the city government would continue distributing the second tranche in other barangays to make the program more accessible to beneficiaries.
The mayor said the city intends to bring the assistance closer to senior citizens so they would not have to travel long distances to claim their allocation.
“Indi na mabudlay maglakat pa sa layo nga lugar para magkuha sang bugas kay dira na mismo sa ila barangay ipanagtag sang syudad,” Gasataya said.
The city government is expected to continue the barangay-level distribution in the coming days as it works to reach the remaining qualified senior citizens under the second tranche of the program./PN
