Gov’t outlets to sell cheap subsidized rice by May 2 - DA

Metro Manila, Philippines - The Department of Agriculture will begin selling P20 per kilogram (kg) rice in government-run Kadiwa centers on May 2.

The subsidized rice will be available only to indigents, solo parents, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities, the DA said in a statement on Monday, April 28.

Beneficiaries can buy up to 30 kg of “high-quality rice” from the National Food Authority (NFA) per month.

The last cheap staple of old NFA stocks was sold for P29/kg to vulnerable sectors.

The government had announced the cheap rice pilot program in the Visayas. The amount was President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s campaign promise.

“The new rice option aligns with the ‘Bente Bigas Mo’ pilot program in the Visayas and in the 10 local government units (LGUs) that have joined the initiative, where NFA rice is sold at P33 per kilo due to the national food security emergency,” the DA said of the pilot program. “These LGUs include San Juan City in Metro Manila, San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, Camarines Sur and Mati City in Davao Oriental.”

There were no details about the kickoff of the pilot program.

The Commission on Elections has exempted the budget for subsidized rice from the poll spending ban. 

The DA declared a food security emergency in a bid to free up space in NFA warehouses, and has resulted in insignificant release of stocks in the last two months.

“As of April 24, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson reported that out of the 10.1 million sacks of palay in storage, roughly 2.9 million were acquired this year, the agency said.

“This brings the total buffer stock to the equivalent of 7.56 million bags of rice—a five-year high—sufficient to meet national demand for ten days,” it added.