President Arroyo has ordered the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to release a total of P200 million for the purpose of keeping the price of low-cost rice stable and for the establishment of new mobile clinics across the country.
Speaking at the convention of the Philippine Academy of Medical Specialists (PAMS) at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City, the President issued the two directives, both aimed at addressing the concerns of the poor.
The President said that P100 million would go to the government efforts to keep the price of low-cost rice stable, particularly until the end of the year or the holiday season.
“I am instructing Pagcor to contribute P100 million to help ensure that the needy throughout our nation will have access to affordable rice during this holiday season,” Mrs. Arroyo said.
With the President’s directive, the Department of Agriculture would now have a total of P500 million for the purpose of keeping the price of rice stable.
Last week, the President released an additional P1 billion for hunger-mitigating measures, P750 million of which would go to the DA.
The President stressed the importance of bringing rice to those who need it most and called on all sectors to help the drive to address hunger.
“Rice is not only a staple for our people, it is symbolic of our ability to deliver on our promise to feed those less fortunate,” the President said.
Another P100 million would also be provided by Pagcor for new mobile clinics across the country.
The President said the mobile clinics would support PAMS’s medical outreach program.
PAMS is one of the largest associations of specialized medical professions with about 6,000 members nationwide, and continues to extend medical and surgical assistance to indigent families in far-flung areas through medical missions.
PAMS national president Dr. Rene Catan said doctors with different fields of specialization, including surgical, obstetrics and gynecology, volunteer to “serve their poor and sickly countrymen.”
“Thank you for the medical missions and self-help programs of the medical profession, notably those that support our goals to cut cost of medicine and bring specialized training to the provinces,” the President said in her address to PAMS.