MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government is set to roll out President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s campaign promise of P20-per-kilo rice, starting with Visayas.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco “Kiko” Tiu Laurel Jr. announced the pilot program on Wednesday, April 23, at the Cebu Provincial Capitol.
He said Visayan regions were prioritized for the initial phase because “they needed it more,” but added that the government ultimately plans to implement the program nationwide.
“But of course the eventual intention of this program is, once we sort out all the issues logistically so we could actually see how to operate it, launch it and manage it, this will be [implemented] nationwide eventually,” he said.
Before the announcement, Marcos met with governors from Western, Central and Eastern Visayas in a closed-door meeting to discuss the program’s initial rollout.
Laurel said they agreed to allow each family to buy 10 kilograms of rice per week, or up to 40 kilograms per month.
Details such as the launch date and points of sale have yet to be disclosed. The initial plan is to run the program until December 2025, Laurel said, but Marcos has requested it be extended until February 2026.
Laurel added that Marcos also directed the Department of Agriculture (DA) to draft a roadmap to sustain the program until 2028.
Overloaded warehouses
According to the DA, the rollout was prompted by an oversupply of rice buffer stocks, which has to be redistributed across regions.
“As mentioned before, there are 358,000 [tons of stocks of palay],” he said in a mix of English and Filipino. Laurel added that the National Food Authority (NFA) is now holding more than the usual 300,000 metric tons of buffer stock, boosted by the ongoing harvest season.
On April 15, the NFA reported that this stockpile is enough to feed the country’s population for 9.36 days, signaling stronger food security.
With several warehouses already at full capacity, the need to offload stocks has become urgent. It is one of the key factors making it possible to sell rice at P20 per kilo, Laurel said.
“So we really have to move out and dispose. That’s also the other factor,” he added.
The agriculture secretary clarified that selling rice at P20 per kilo has been part of the Marcos administration’s plan since it took office.
“Actually, we’ve long thought about this. … Can we give 20-peso rice to the masses? So it was always on our mind that the DA team has been working day and night on how to bring this to reality,” Laurel said in a mix of English and Filipino.
He also explained that the program could not be implemented in 2024 due to high global rice prices. But with prices easing in 2025, Laurel said the government was able to roll out the subsidy earlier than expected.
“So we're hoping that local government units will participate and that this program will be successful so our people can benefit from more affordable rice,” he added.
Rice prices still high
Now entering its fourth year, the Marcos administration is working to fulfill one of the president’s key campaign promises: P20 per kilo rice. Currently, retail prices remain above P40 per kilo and can reach up to P60.
While the DA prepares to pilot the P20 rice program, it is also enforcing suggested retail price caps on imported rice in Metro Manila to ease local market prices.
As of April 22, the DA’s price monitoring showed local commercial rice in Metro Manila selling between P33 and P65 per kilo, depending on the quality.
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