THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday that it will be conducting a pilot program offering subsidized rice at P20 per kilo in the Visayas, which the Palace is pushing to sustain until the government steps down in 2028.
“We are launching it here because mas marami ang nangangailangan (many people are needy),” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said at a briefing, noting eventual plans to offer P20 rice nationwide.
The subsidy for the program has been set at P3.5 billion to P4.5 billion, he said.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. had promised to bring rice prices down to P20 per kilo when he was campaigning for the presidency.
The DA announcement follows a closed-door meeting of 12 Visayas governors with Mr. Marcos on Wednesday.
“Initially the program was supposed to only last until December and can be stretched until February. But our President has given a directive to the DA (to make the program) sustainable and continue until 2028,” Mr. Laurel said.
He said the reduced prices are also meant to help move inventory piling up in government grain warehouses.
“We have stocks, especially in Iloilo. So this can be a way for us to release our stocks,” he said.
“Punong-puno pa rin ang warehouses ng DA ng bigas at palay (DA warehouses are overflowing with milled and unmilled rice),” he added.
Currently, he said the rice inventory is at 358,000 metric tons, swelled by the harvest.
“A lot of steps are needed to make this happen,” Mr. Laurel said, adding that he has been asked to plan for P20 rice since he took office.
“We were not able to do it last year because the world price of rice was at a 15-year high. Now that the prices are lower, the subsidy will also be lower,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
