AGRICULTURE Secretary Francisco “Kiko” Tiu Laurel Jr. announced Wednesday that the Department of Agriculture (DA) will launch a pilot program selling rice at P20 per kilo in the Visayas region.
This initiative, he stated, is a direct response to a directive from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., fulfilling a campaign promise to lower rice prices to this level.
The program, initially scheduled to run until December, may be extended until February 2026, with a longer-term goal of sustainability. Secretary Laurel stated during a press conference in Cebu, “Our president has given the directive to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to formulate this to be sustainable and continue until 2028.”
He added that the urgency of the program stems from the pressing need among the population, stating, “The reason we had a meeting today is because… well… it’s a bit bad to say, but the people here need it more.”
The program will utilize the DA’s existing buffer stock of 358,000 metric tons of rice currently stored in warehouses.
Secretary Laurel acknowledged the long-standing question surrounding the feasibility of P20 rice, recalling, “Ever since I came into office, that was the basic question: Can we give P20 rice to the masses?” He emphasized that the DA has been working diligently to make this campaign promise a reality.
