The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Tracy Cabrera
Nearly three years after it was promised during the 2022 presidential campaign, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s vow to bring down the price of rice to P20 per kilo is finally taking root, starting this week, but only in the Visayas.
Often dismissed as just another campaign slogan, the P20-per-kilo rice program is now being piloted through a government subsidy scheme in partnership with local government units (LGUs).
President Marcos met with 12 governors from Regions VI (Western Visayas), VII (Central Visayas), and VIII (Eastern Visayas) in Cebu City to finalize the program’s rollout, which will begin on May 1. He was joined by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr.
“This program will run initially until December, but the President wants it sustained until 2028,” said Tiu Laurel.
The program allows each beneficiary family to buy up to 10 kilos of rice per week—or 40 kilos monthly—at P20 per kilo. The national government and LGUs will jointly shoulder the P13 difference from the current average market price of P33 per kilo.
The DA selected Visayas for the pilot phase due to its high demand for food support and the availability of rice stocks. Tiu Laurel noted that government warehouses are now overflowing with supply, thanks to harvest season, which further supports the need to offload and distribute the rice.
“Our stocks have increased from 300,000 tons to 358,000 tons. So yes, we really have rice. And we need to make room for more,” he explained.
Aside from surplus stocks, the agri chief pointed to declining global rice and fuel prices as factors that helped make the program more feasible.
Eventually, the administration aims to expand the initiative nationwide. But for now, the focus is on ironing out logistics and ensuring effective implementation in the Visayas.
“This is just the start,” Tiu Laurel added. “The President wants a plan to make this sustainable. The goal is to make it work now—and work for good.”