It’s Southern Leyte’s turn to sell rice at P20 per kilo
TACLOBAN CITY–Southern Leyte is set to sell rice at P20 per kilogram to support President Marcos’ program to make rice more affordable to Filipino families.
Southern Leyte Gov. Damian Mercado said the provincial government is initially procuring 30,000 sacks of rice.
“We are showing our commitment to the President’s vision of affordable rice by helping shoulder the cost,” Mercado said in a May 18 interview.
Purchase orders for the rice acquisition were readied the following day as part of the province’s efforts to roll out the program soon.
To lower the price from the current average of P33 to P20 per kilo, the provincial government will subsidize P6.50 per kilo, with an additional P6.50 to be shouldered by Food Terminal Inc., bringing the total subsidy to P13 per kilo.
Although the governor did not specify the total budget allocation for the program, he assured that the P20 per kilo rice would be available in public markets across the province “in the days to come.”
Iloilo province, which has also started undertaking the program similar to Cebu, has earlier allocated P10 million to subsidize the cheap rice sold in all localities in the province.
Mercado said the local government was working to ensure the equitable and efficient distribution of rice once the supply arrives.
In Basey, too
A similar initiative has been ongoing in Basey town, Samar since May 8 where limited quantities of rice are being sold at P20 per kilo to Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities.
According to Municipal Agriculture Officer Jesus Jabines, the rice comes from local farmers who received fertilizers and seeds from the Department of Agriculture.
No local government funds were used for the program.
“The price reduction is made possible because farmers agree to sell a portion of their harvest in exchange for the inputs they received,” Jabines said.
Basey is home to over 9,000 rice farmers cultivating more than 4,700 hectares of rice fields with an average yield of 4.5 metric tons per hectare.
“We want to prove that it is possible to sell rice at P20 per kilo if everyone works together,” Jabines said.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. earlier said that the program to sell rice at P20 per kilo would be launched in the Visayas composed of Central Visayas, Western Visayas and Eastern Visayas as well as Negros Island Region because “there are more people in need in these regions.”
But he said the eventual intention of this program is to launch it nationwide.
Laurel said the administration is doing its best to fulfill the President’s campaign promise to sell rice at P20 per kilo.
