A total of 8,898 senior citizens in San Juan City will receive 40 kilos of rice each this year under the Assistance to Indigent Individuals or Families–Food Assistance (AIIF-FA) Rice Distribution Project, which began with the first 10-kilo allocation on Wednesday, May 6.

San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora led the initial distribution of 10 kilos of rice at the City Hall Atrium. The program forms part of the “Sa Bagong Pilipinas, Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” initiative of the national government.

During the launch, the initial batch of beneficiaries received their rice allocation, with subsequent distributions scheduled to ensure orderly and efficient implementation of the program.

The mayor said the selection of beneficiaries will be determined by the local government, depending on who they deem eligible to receive assistance. In San Juan, senior citizens were chosen as the priority beneficiaries.

“Bakit senior citizens ang ating napili? Ang desisyon is up to the LGU kung sino sa tingin nila ang dapat mabigyan (Why were senior citizens chosen? The decision is up to the LGU on who they believe should be prioritized to receive assistance),” he said.

“Dahil ang ating mga lolo at lola ay dapat nating tulungan, at meron naman po kayong mga pamilya, mga anak, mga apo na kasama sa inyong mga tahanan, alam namin na maraming makikinabang sa bigas na ito. Kaya rito sa San Juan, ang mga senior citizens po ang ating beneficiaries or recipients (Because our grandparents should be supported, and we know many of you have families, children, and grandchildren living with you, we believe many will benefit from this rice assistance. That is why, here in San Juan, senior citizens are the beneficiaries or recipients),” he added.

Zamora said beneficiaries were identified based on the list submitted by the Association of Senior Citizens in each barangay, in line with the objectives of the AIIF-FA program.

The local government said each recipient will receive 10 kilograms of rice four times throughout the year. This will be distributed in May, July, September, and November.

It added that the initiative underscores the strong partnership between the national government and local government units in addressing food security and providing direct support to vulnerable sectors.

The program was launched across Metro Manila, with mayors in other NCR local government units conducting parallel distributions in their respective cities and in the lone NCR municipality.