Various brands of rice that are sold at the Carbon Public Market. | CDN Digital File Photo/Niña Mae Oliverio
CEBU CITY, Philippines – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is set to make true of his campaign promise of a P20/kilo rice, three years into his term.
The “P20 program” will be implemented on the last week of April 2025 – starting in the Visayas.
A closed-door meeting, attended by President Marcos and several Visayas governors, was held at the Cebu Provincial Capitol on Wednesday, April 23, to discuss the matter.
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Before the meeting ended, Department of Agriculture Secretary Francis Tiu Laurel Jr. announced to local media their plans to implement the P20 program first in Regions 6, 7, and 8.
He elaborated that these specific regions were chosen for the pilot run because there were more residents in need. This program, however, will eventually be rolled out nationwide.
“We’re launching it here because mas maraming nangagailangan sa mga regions na yun. But of course, ang eventual intention nitong programang ito – once we sort out all the issues logistically and parang magdidiktarya how to operate it, enlarge it, and manage it – nationwide ito eventually,” stated Laurel.
Another factor that was considered, according to Laurel, is the availability of stocks in the Visayas, particularly in the province of Iloilo.
“Other factor nga kailangan din namin gawin ito sa DA is because of talagang punong-puno pa rin ang warehouses ng DA ng bigas at palay,” he added.
Laurel explained that the gap between the subsidized rate of P20/kilo rice and the current market price of P32 to P33 per kilo will be split between the participating local government units (LGUs) and the national government.
The share of the national government will be shouldered by the Department of Agriculture and the Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI).
The initial budget has been set at P3.5 to P4.5 billion, according to Laurel.
During the meeting on Wednesday, a 10-kg-per-week distribution template was chosen over a 5 kg-per-week model.
With this, families in Visayas will be able to purchase up to 10 kilograms of rice per week — equivalent to 40 kg per month — at the subsidized price of P20.
Laurel revealed that the president has given a directive to reframe the program to be sustainable and last until the year 2028.
It was originally given a short-term timeframe through December 2025 with the possible extension until February 2026.
Laurel admitted that the P20/kilo rice program has been under discussion for a while as it is one of the aspirations of the incumbent president.
He explained that the program has finally been put into motion in consideration of the current global market conditions. In the previous year, implementation did not take place as the subsidies were found to be impractical after the global prices hit a 15-year high.
Because the market prices have now gone down, the project was seen as feasible.
The national government is aiming to implement the “P20 program” across the nation after learning the best way to manage it as a successful long-term initiative.
“We’re hoping na ang mga LGUs will participate at maging successful itong programang ito parang makinabang ang ating mga mamamayan sa mas murang bigas,” stated Laurel.
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