P20/kilo rice program officially starts today

CEBU, Philippines — The government’s P20 rice program will officially launch today, May 1, 2025, at the Cebu Provincial Capitol, with Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. expected to lead the event.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia announced in a press conference yesterday that a “KADIWA ng Pangulo” event will be held at the Capitol quadrangle, where local farmers will have the opportunity to sell their products.

“We will continue to do this and this will be on a simultaneous basis. Other towns and other cities will be beamed into the LED screens showing also the selling of the rice,” said the governor.

Garcia emphasized that the rice sale will be conducted by Secretary Laurel—not by local officials nor in the presence of any political candidates.

She added that the event will be replicated in various towns and cities, where P20-per-kilo rice will be distributed by municipal agriculturists.

On Monday, Laurel announced that the Department of Agriculture (DA), through the KADIWA ng Pangulo program, will begin offering rice at P20 per kilogram starting today. The rice will be sold at KADIWA centers and through local government units (LGUs) in their respective communities.

According to the DA, the subsidized rice will initially be available only to indigent families, senior citizens, solo parents, and persons with disabilities. Each eligible beneficiary may purchase up to 30 kilos of rice per month.

The rice will be sourced by Food Terminal Inc. from the National Food Authority (NFA). For the pilot implementation, participating LGUs that share in the project’s subsidy may opt to make the rice available to all households in their communities, regardless of vulnerability status.

Laurel explained that the new rice pricing is in line with the “Bente Bigas Mo” pilot program in the Visayas and 10 other LGUs, where NFA rice is currently sold at P33 per kilo due to the national food security emergency.

The DA also confirmed that it has received clearance from the Commission on Elections to proceed with the sale of the P20-per-kilo rice.

This initiative is expected to help decongest NFA warehouses, allowing for increased procurement of palay from local farmers during the summer harvest season.

As of April 24, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson reported that 2.9 million sacks of palay had been acquired this year out of the 10.1 million sacks currently in storage. This brings the country’s rice buffer stock to the equivalent of 7.56 million bags—a five-year high—enough to meet national demand for ten days.

Laurel underscored that the “Bente Bigas Mo” initiative serves a dual purpose, “easing the financial burden on millions of Filipino families while ensuring rice farmers receive fair compensation for their harvests.”

Initially scheduled to run until December, the DA is now revisiting the plan following President Marcos’ directive to expand the program nationwide and ensure its continuity until the end of his term in 2028. — /FPL (FREEMAN)