By Manilen Grace Armea
MANILA – The Philippine government has begun selling rice at 20 pesos per kilo to jeepney and tricycle drivers, expanding President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s flagship food subsidy as soaring grain costs continue to strain millions of households.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) launched the rollout on Sept. 16 in Navotas City and four pilot areas, where about 4,000 accredited drivers were able to buy rice. Each driver may purchase up to 10 kilos per month through Kadiwa ng Pangulo outlets and local distribution points. The DA is coordinating with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), which oversees the Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (TODA) database, to verify eligibility.
“We want to ensure that this program truly reaches the intended beneficiaries—the drivers who keep our cities moving despite high fuel costs and daily economic struggles,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement.
The subsidy, branded “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!,” was earlier offered to solo parents, senior citizens, 4Ps beneficiaries, and persons with disabilities. It has since expanded to cover minimum-wage earners, rice farmers, fisherfolk, and now transport workers. The administration aims to reach 15 million families by 2026 and sustain the program until 2028, the end of Marcos’ term.
Marcos campaigned in 2022 on the promise of “20-peso rice,” a pledge widely dismissed as unrealistic. In his July 28 State of the Nation Address, he insisted the program has proven viable and could eventually go nationwide.
“To those asking where the ‘20-peso rice’ is: this is my response. We have proven that we can achieve 20 pesos per kilo of rice without farmers incurring losses,” Marcos said.
Rice prices have surged in recent years, topping 50 pesos per kilo in 2023 and 2024. While inflation has since eased, costs remain burdensome for the poor. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said rice inflation fell to –12.8 percent in June, with regular milled rice averaging 43.19 pesos per kilo in May, down from 51.11 pesos a year earlier.
Poverty trends highlight the stakes. According to the PSA, the poverty rate rose to 18.1 percent in 2021, or nearly 20 million Filipinos, before easing to 15.5 percent in 2023, or about 17.5 million people still living below the threshold.
Despite the relief, access to subsidized rice has been uneven.
“I’m happy we can buy rice at 20 pesos. It’s a big help for single parents like me, but it hasn’t reached our place yet,” said Rose Mejia, a solo mother from Bulacan, to Filipino-Japanese Journal (FJJ).
Senior citizen Edgar De Vera, 68, said that the program has been more of a promise than a reality. “It is very helpful and a good initiative from the government but it feels selective,” he told FJJ.
For drivers, the subsidy comes as fuel hikes eat into daily earnings. “It will be a big help for us drivers, especially since gas prices keep rising but fares don’t. I just hope the rice is still good quality even at 20 pesos,” said Jayson Panaligan, 38, a TODA member from Bulacan.
But others remain excluded. “What about other tricycle drivers who are not members of TODA? I hope the system of distribution will be fair for everyone, not just those registered,” Panaligan added.
Tiu Laurel said government stocks are sufficient to sustain the program, citing a planned October auction of 1.2 million bags of rice from the National Food Authority (NFA). The NFA currently holds about 450,000 metric tons in buffer stock, making the auction equivalent to roughly 13 percent of reserves. Officials also plan to launch a digital “P20 App” on Oct. 1 to improve monitoring, ensure transparency, and prevent misuse of the subsidy.
Still, farmers and traders warn of losses. “It’s hard for us with this 20-peso rice being sold in Kadiwa because we can’t keep up with that price. We buy unmilled rice at a higher cost,” said Dan Zuniga, a rice miller at Intercity Rice Mill in Bulacan, in an interview with FJJ.
Professor Teodoro Mendoza, a scientist at the University of the Philippines, told Inquirer.net that the program has driven down prices to the disadvantage of producers, calling it “the biggest disaster our farmers have ever experienced” despite Marcos’ claims of affordable rice.
For now, the rollout has brought relief to some, but millions more are still waiting for Marcos’ campaign promise to reach their plates.
Article photo: A tricycle driver carries a bag of rice he bought for 20 pesos per kilo under the Philippine government’s rice subsidy program. (Courtesy of Department of Agriculture)
