Nearly 57,000 transport workers are set to benefit from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s flagship affordable rice program, Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!, which the Department of Agriculture (DA) will roll out on Tuesday, September 16.
The program will initially cover public transport workers—including bus, jeepney, and tricycle drivers as well as operators—across five major cities, giving them access to rice at just P20 per kilo.
“It’s a promise being fulfilled—a fight against hunger that meets people where they are. We are grateful to our partner agencies for making this possible in record time,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
The DA is implementing the rollout in coordination with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), which helped identify the beneficiaries.
Each eligible driver or operator will be able to buy up to 10 kilos of rice per month at the subsidized price. Initial distributions will be held at the Bureau of Animal Industry in Quezon City for 17,633 beneficiaries; the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority in Navotas City for 1,001 beneficiaries; Barangay Pandan in Angeles City, Pampanga, for 9,961 beneficiaries; Food Terminal Inc. in Cebu City for 24,742 beneficiaries; and Tagum City for 3,650 beneficiaries.
Thereafter, the distribution hubs will include the Bureau of Animal Industry and Agricultural Development Center in Quezon City, the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority in Navotas, the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division in Cebu, Food Terminal Inc. in Angeles, and the AMAD office in Tagum.
Originally targeted at senior citizens, solo parents, persons with
disabilities, and indigent households, the P20 Rice Program has since expanded to cover minimum wage earners, farmers, fisherfolk, public school teachers, non-teaching DepEd staff, and beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Walang Gutom program.
“We are fully committed to President Marcos’ directive to extend this program to 15 million households by 2026—and to keep it going until the end of his term in 2028. From city markets to rural roads, the message is clear: Benteng Bigas, Meron Na! is no longer a campaign promise but a reality,” Tiu Laurel said.
