DA: P20 rice in Kadiwa centers starting May 2
“High quality” rice priced at P20 per kilo will be sold in Kadiwa centers and by participating local government units (LGUs) in their communities starting May 2, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Monday.
However, only indigents, senior citizens, solo parents and persons with disabilities may avail of the affordable rice in Kadiwa centers. They may buy up to 30 kilograms (kg) of rice a month.
As for participating LGUs, they may offer the P20 per kg rice to all households in their area.
“The new rice option aligns with the ‘Bente Bigas Mo’ pilot program in the Visayas and in the 10 local government units that have joined the initiative, where NFA rice is sold at P33 per kilo due to the national food security emergency,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.
These include San Juan City in Metro Manila, San Jose del Monte in Bulacan, Camarines Sur, and Mati City in Davao Oriental.
Tiu Laurel said the “Bente Bigas Mo” initiative seeks to alleviate the financial burden on millions of Filipino families while ensuring fair compensation for the harvest of local farmers.
Longer implementation
The DA initially planned to implement the project until this December or February next year until President Marcos directed it to sustain the program until 2028.
The Food Terminal Inc. will procure the rice from the National Food Authority (NFA), which has stored 7.56 million bags as of April 24, enough to meet national consumption for 10 days.
Last week, Tiu Laurel announced the new rice program will start in the Visayas region, including Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas and the Negros Island, as he noted that the poverty rates in these regions were higher than the average.
In those areas, the purchase limit per family will be set at 10 kg a week, or 40 kg a month. Eventually, the DA intends to implement the program nationwide.
In preparation for this initiative, the NFA has begun relocating rice stocks to the Visayas after the DA secured the approval of the Commission on Elections for its implementation.
“The initiative is expected to free up NFA warehouse space, enabling increased rice procurement from local farmers during the summer harvest,” the DA said.
“My directive to our teams on the ground is to purchase as much palay as possible, at P18 to P24 per kilo, to help boost farmers’ incomes,” NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said.
Current rice retail prices are still a long way off from the P20-per kilo level as the DA’s price monitoring showed that local regular and well-milled rice ranged per kg from a low of P35 to a high of P54 as of April 26.
Not an election gimmick
Reacting to criticisms that the move was meant to court votes for administration candidates, Palace press officer Claire Castro said on Monday there is a never a bad time to help people in need.
“When will we give the horse the scythe? When the horse dies? In politics, there is no timing in providing aid, in providing help to those who need it, especially among those on the fringes of society; the timing here should not be questioned,” she said.
Vice President Sara Duterte earlier questioned the timing of the rollout of the project, calling the fulfillment of Mr. Marcos’ campaign promise an election gimmick.
But Castro said there was no political agenda, adding that it took time to work out the details of the program.
“Obviously, this cannot be done with a click of the hand. Everyone needs to work together, like in this case wherein some Visayas governors have given their approval to provide subsidies along with the national government—that is being studied, and this cannot be done haphazardly,” she said. —WITH A REPORT FROM MELVIN GASCON
