By Brian Campued
“20 pesos kada kilo na bigas. Iyan ang pangako—at ngayon, sinisimulan na natin itong maisakatuparan sa Visayas region.”
Such were the words of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. after the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Wednesday its plans for the pilot rollout of the administration’s promised P20 per kilo rice in the Visayas region.
The announcement was made by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. following a closed-door meeting with the President and 12 governors from Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas at the Cebu Provincial Capitol in Cebu City.
According to Laurel, the selling of P20/kg rice will begin next week in Visayas, where Regions 6, 7, and 8 shall serve as a “testbed” for the program’s implementation strategies and logistical coordination before a possible nationwide rollout.
This is in pursuance of the President’s goal of making affordable rice accessible to more Filipinos across the country.
“We launched it here (Cebu) because mas marami ngang nangangailangan sa mga regions na ’yon. But, of course, ang eventual intention nitong programang ito—once we sort out all the issues logistically and para makita talaga how to operate it and launch it and manage it—nationwide ito eventually,” the DA chief explained.
Under the program, each household is allowed to buy 10 kg of rice per week or up to 40 kg per month.
The program is set to run until December 2025, with the possibility of extension to February 2026 or even until 2028, Laurel said.
“Our President has given the directive to the Department of Agriculture to formulate this to be sustainable and tuloy-tuloy hanggang 2028,” he added. (with report from Jessee Atienza / PTV Cebu)
-iroP20 per
