By Brian Campued
Following the successful nationwide rollout of “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na” Program in 2025, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to further expand the sale of P20 per kilo rice to the provinces beginning this January 2026.
In a Malacañang press briefing Thursday, DA Sec. Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced that Pangasinan will serve as the pilot area for the province-wide rollout of the BBM Na Program on Jan. 13.
“Then tuloy-tuloy na yan, every week magbubukas na tayo ng probinsiya,” Laurel said.
“We intend to cater to… 15 million families, 60 million Filipinos dapat makumpleto namin within this year,” he added.
The DA chief also underscored the importance of the Marcos Jr. administration’s flagship food security program to curb food inflation and make affordable rice more accessible to Filipinos.
Laurel added that their agency has around P14 billion budget to fund the expansion of the BBM Na Program this year.
“It will be spent wisely and it will definitely benefit a lot of Filipinos,” he stressed.
At least P297 billion in funds were allocated to the entire agriculture sector under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday.
According to Laurel, the P215 billion budget for DA will be used to address post-harvest losses due to logistics concerns, including the construction of food hubs and cold storage facilities.
“P2 billion ang ilalagay natin sa Clark food hub. So lahat ng Northern Luzon na produkto, even around Clark, ay doon na ibabagsak, so ready market iyon. Hopefully, by [the] first quarter of next year operational [na] iyon,” he said.
Around P500 million will be allotted to build a food hub with grain terminal and cold storage in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, while another P500 million was earmarked for a food hub in Pili, Camarines Sur.
-av
