Manila, June 23 -- Some 4,500 minimum wage earners from Western Visayas stand to benefit from the pilot implementation of the "Benteng Bigas Meron Na!," a project of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Following the nationwide launch on June 13, a total of 250 workers from a construction firm and a manpower agency in Iloilo have availed of the subsidized PHP20/kg rice.

"It applies to all provinces and covers around 4,500 workers with 33 partner establishments," DOLE-Western Visayas Assistant Regional Director Melisa Navarra said in an interview Monday.

She said an establishment in Antique with 47 minimum wage workers and another in Capiz with 61 workers are ready to subm...