Some 58,000 farmer-beneficiaries of the government’s Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) were found to be ineligible, Senator Win Gatchalian flagged.

He raised this finding by the Commission on Audit (COA) during a hearing on the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its attached agencies. According to state auditors, these individuals from seven regions were not farmers and not registered with the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).

The RSBSA compiles information on farmers, farm laborers, fisherfolk, and agri-youth and serves as a targeting mechanism for government programs and services such as the RFFA, an unconditional cash assistance for smallholder farmers.

Gatchalian emphasized the need to ensure that all beneficiaries are registered with the RSBSA. He pointed out that the registry should be linked with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) so that the government can have unified data.

“Maraming leakages in terms of assistance. It’s about time to plug leakages by making sure that the registry is in line with our National ID,” said Gatchalian, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance. 

Photo by Mark Cayabyab / OS GATCHALIAN