MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday belied a post circulating online and bearing its official logo supposedly announcing the distribution of P3,000 cash assistance or P3,5000 worth of agricultural products to farmers.
Screenshot of the bogus DA social media post shown on PTV’s Laging Handa briefing
During the Laging Handa briefing, DA Secretary William Dar clarified the post is “fake news” and that the agency will only distribute seeds and fertilizers to farmers.
“Last week, meron kaming na-monitor na gumamit ng logo ng DA, fake news ito po,” Dar stressed
(Last week, we monitored a post using the DA’s logo, this is fake news.)
“Ang katotohanan, magbibigay kami ng certified seeds, of course, again sa rice at dalawang sako ng urea [fertilizer],” he added.
Apart from distributing these, Dar said the agency will also conduct training to help farmers increase their productivity.
Earlier, DA launched a Financial Subsidy to Rice Farmers (FSRF) to assist small farmers amid the quarantine measures imposed in parts of the country.
Under the said program, over 600,000 small rice farmers who plant one hectare or less will receive a P5,000 financial subsidy.