Senator Win Gatchalian has raised concern over findings by the Commission on Audit (COA) revealing that about 58,000 individuals who received aid under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) program were ineligible beneficiaries.

During the budget hearing for the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its attached agencies, Gatchalian cited the COA report, which found that the recipients—spread across seven regions—were not actual farmers and were not registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA).

The RSBSA serves as the government’s official database for farmers, fisherfolk, and agri-sector workers and is used to identify eligible beneficiaries for programs such as the RFFA, which provides unconditional cash assistance to smallholder farmers.

Gatchalian stressed the importance of ensuring that only verified farmers benefit from the program, urging the DA to link the RSBSA with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)** for better data integration and transparency.

“Maraming leakages in terms of assistance,” Gatchalian said. “It’s about time to plug these leakages by making sure that the registry aligns with our National ID system.”

As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Gatchalian emphasized that stronger data validation is crucial to ensure that government funds reach their intended beneficiaries and support the country’s genuine rice farmers.