The Department of Agriculture confirmed Tuesday the national government and local governments are subsidizing the P20 per kilogram rice program, which is set to launch in Cebu this May.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr said part of the subsidy will come from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s P4.5 billion contingency fund, while the rest will be covered by LGUs.

Gov’t to expand P20/kg rice, feeding programs to ease self-rated poverty: Palace

“Paghahatian ng gobyerno at LGUs ‘yung 13 pesos [subsidy]. P6.50 bawat side,” he said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview.

One reason for the P20/kilo rice, he said, is the need to unload stock from National Food Authority warehouses amid criticism from Vice President Sara Duterte that the program is a ploy to influence the May midterm elections.

The NFA earlier said its rice buffer stock has increased substantially amid President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s directive to ramp up palay procurement efforts.

“Yes it is a subsidy but I want to tell everybody that there is a real need to do this as soon as possible dahil ang stocks natin ng NFA warehouses nationwide  ay media punong-puno na ho so kailangan naming mag move out ng stocks,” he said.

“You can question the timing but the reality is the warehouses are full,” he added.

“Nandiyan na ‘yung bigas. Bakit pa natin hihintayin after elections e ang daming nagugutom?”

Asked if the government can offer P20/kilo rice nationwide, the agriculture chief said: “It depends how much the government is willing to spend.” He said the DA is currently studying a proposal to extend the program from 2026 all the way up to 2028, targeting 15 million households or 51 percent of the population.

He noted the NFA only stocks palay, which can be kept in warehouses for a year before being milled.

The pilot program is targeting areas with high poverty incidence including parts of Regions 6, 7 and 8 as well as Zamboanga. 

The DA chief said the department will monitor the implementation of the program in the first 3 months to check its acceptability among residents and how the LGUs are implementing the program.