DUMAGUETE CITY, Aug. 9 -- More than 7,000 minimum wage earners in Negros Oriental have so far benefited from the government's PHP20 per kilogram rice program, an official of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Saturday.

The rollout of the "Benteng Bigas Meron Na" in Negros Oriental started in June with a few business establishments signing up, Nole Torres, DOLE-Negros Island Region (NIR) senior labor officer and focal person of the rice program here, said in an interview.

"If you can still remember the promise of our President on the P20/kg rice, here comes its realization but this is only for the minimum wage earners because the Department of Agriculture will take care of the indigent sector," Torres said.

On Saturday, ...