The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced plans for the pilot rollout of the PhP20-per-kilo rice initiative, which will begin in the Visayas region, following a closed-door meeting with the President and 12 governors from the Visayas region at the Cebu Provincial Capitol on Wednesday.

According to Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., the said regions shall serve as a testbed for implementation strategies and logistical coordination.

He added that the program is intended to be scaled up nationwide, with the goal of making affordable rice accessible to more Filipino families across the country.

“We launched it here (Cebu) because mas marami ngang nangangailangan sa mga regions na ‘yun. 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,” he said.

As part of the initial phase, the DA will provide up to 40 kilos of rice per household per month. The program is set to run until December, 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,” the DA secretary said.

Laurel said selling cheaper rice to the public will decongest National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses, which are currently operating at full capacity due to the large volume of milled and unmilled rice stocks.

He noted that the country’s stockpile has grown from 300,000 metric tons to 358,000 metric tons due to harvest season.

“So, we really have to move out and dispose of. That’s also the other factor,” Laurel said. | PND