A SUBSIDIZED P20-per-kilo rice program will be piloted in several Visayas provinces next week, fulfilling the campaign promise of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced the program during a press conference held at the Cebu Provincial Capitol, following a meeting between Marcos and governors from the provinces of Central Visayas, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Negros Island Region on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
The program, said Laurel, is a collaboration between the National Government and local government units (LGUs). It aims to procure rice in bulk and sell it at P20 per kilo to selected beneficiaries.
Laurel further said that the program will be implemented due to a significant drop in global rice prices, making the subsidy feasible.
Several governors expressed their support for the program, which they said could help several people from the marginalized sector and local farmers.
The Visayas was selected for the pilot implementation due to ample rice supply from Iloilo, a province in Western Visayas, and the high number of vulnerable individuals in the regions, according to Laurel.
“We also need to move our stock from other areas. Another factor requiring DA to implement this is the fact that our warehouses remain full of rice and palay,” Laurel said, noting that DA currently has at least 358 tons of rice in stock, with volumes increasing after the harvest.
Directive
President Marcos directed the agencies to ensure the program’s sustainability until 2028, the last year of his single six-year-term, according to Laurel.
The Cebu Provincial Government had launched a similar initiative in November 2023 called Sugbo Merkadong Barato (SMB), offering rice at P20 per kilo to selected beneficiaries. However, it faced challenges due to inconsistent NFA rice supplies.
Setup
The rice will be sourced from the National Food Authority (NFA), which will purchase palay from local farmers and supply it to the DA’s Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI). The LGUs will then obtain their rice supply from FTI and distribute it to identified beneficiaries.
To make the subsidized price possible, Laurel said the National Government and the LGUs will equally shoulder the difference between the market price and the selling price.
Laurel, discussing an example, said if the market price of rice is P33 per kilo, the P13 difference will be split, with the DA, through FTI, covering P6.50 and the participating LGUs covering the remaining P6.50.
Limit per week
Each selected beneficiary—including senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program) beneficiaries, single parents and other marginalized individuals—will be allowed to purchase a maximum of 10 kilos per week, according to Laurel.
The program will run until December 2025, with a possible extension to February 2026.
Laurel said the National Government will allocate approximately P3.5 to P4.5 billion to fund the pilot program. He expressed optimism that if the program succeeds and overcomes logistical and supply challenges, it will be expanded nationwide.
Support
In a separate press briefing, Aklan Gov. Jose Enrique Miraflores, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho Petilla and Siquijor Gov. Jake Vincent Villa said they support the National Government’s program.
Villa said the program’s success could potentially reduce the region’s inflation rate, citing the strong influence of rice prices on the economy.
Petilla, for his part, said the meeting with President Marcos involved detailed discussions on program implementation, which will be managed by the participating LGUs.
He noted the initiative’s potential to disrupt market dynamics controlled by traders.
“The government is saying that we will find a way to lower it , and you will get hit because we will give them an affordable price of rice per kilo. And hopefully it will trigger the market-driven sector to actually lower the price,” Petilla said.
He added that the program could benefit local farmers through NFA’s consistent demand for palay, ensuring fair pricing and encouraging increased production.
“The farmer’s persistent problem is that they sometimes don’t know who to sell to because when they go to the market to sell, they are taken advantage of. But if there is a constant need from the NFA, then they will have access to proper pricing, and it benefits everyone,” Petilla said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
Additional time
Garcia, for her part, said that while the launch is set for next week, some provinces may need additional time to finalize implementation policies. Cebu’s previous SMB program, she said, would serve as a model to guide other provinces.
She emphasized the larger impact now that the National Government is backing and scaling up the program, enabling beneficiaries to buy more rice.
Garcia said each province will determine its eligibility criteria. In Cebu, she will prioritize frontliners such as barangay health workers, nutrition scholars, animal health aides, daycare workers, tanods, gender and development focal persons, PWDs, senior citizens, government employees and teachers.
Petilla added that implementation will vary among LGUs depending on their resources and local conditions, particularly in identifying beneficiaries and managing logistics.
Laurel emphasized that the program, a fulfillment of the Marcos’ 2022 campaign promise, was long in planning.
“We are hoping that the LGUs will participate and that this program will be successful so that our citizens can benefit from affordable rice,” Laurel said. / EHP