DA, DOLE expand cheap rice program thru participating private firms
The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Labor and Employment have agreed in principle to include minimum wage earners starting next month in the ongoing pilot run of the P20/kilo rice program.
DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said the rice program, dubbed “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na,” will be limited to low-income employees of companies interested in the pilot rollout.
“By including them (minimum wage earners) in the program, we hope to improve their purchasing power. We look forward to a successful implementation of this partnership between our two agencies,” Laguesma said yesterday following his meeting with Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. at the DA Central Office in Quezon City.
Tiu Laurel said the expansion of the rice program follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to sustain and scale the initiative through 2028.
“This initiative stems from the President’s promise to extend the P20 rice program to those who need it most. For now, participation is limited to workers from companies that have expressed interest in the pilot program,” he said.
To date, the P20/kilo rice is available in 38 Kadiwa ng Pangulo sites in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and Mimaropa, while 16 local government units in Cebu are also rolling out the said program to the members of the vulnerable sector, including the members of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and solo parents.
The first phase of the program intends to cover areas in Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental; Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar; Southern Leyte and Leyte; and Bohol, Antique, Cebu, Iloilo, Capiz Biliran; Guimaras, Siquijor, Aklan and Mindoro.
Phase 2 will be implemented starting in July in Zamboanga del Norte, Basilan, Cotabato City, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao, Davao Oriental, and Sorsogon; while the third and final phase will cover Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Norte, Catanduanes, Agusan del Sur, Sarangani and Dinagat Islands.
The program allows the National Food Authority to procure more palay from local farmers at improved rates of P18 to P24 per kilo, helping ensure better farmgate prices and farmer incomes.
On Monday, the Agriculture department underscored the need to restore the NFA’s regulatory powers to help enforce the floor price of palay and protect local farmers from unscrupulous traders.
The floor price, which refers to a state-imposed minimum price for goods or services, must at least cover the production cost of palay farmers, Tiu Laurel said.
“We are studying that in DA and we are looking for legal avenues to implement this) if possible,” he said.
The restoration of NFA powers may also allow them to sell in local markets for market intervention to protect consumers from spiking retail prices, Tiu Laurel said.
To date, NFA’s function is limited to palay procurement to secure the country’s national rice buffer stock for disasters and calamities.
The NFA is only allowed to release its rice stocks under the declaration of food security emergency for rice, during an auction, and for the ongoing P20/kilo rice program.
