The National Food Authority (NFA) will begin rolling out P20-per-kilo rice tomorrow at 12 KADIWA ng Pangulo centers across Metro Manila and nearby provinces, with the number of participating sites expected to increase to 32.
NFA Administrator Larry Lacson also reported that 35,000 bags of well-milled rice were unloaded in Cebu on Monday. This shipment is part of the 600,000 bags ordered by Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for the province’s “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!” (BBM Na!) initiative.
Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, and Southern Leyte have joined the subsidized rice program, placing a combined initial order of 673,000 50-kilo bags. This pilot test, which runs until December, aims to assess the feasibility of a broader rollout.
Siquijor ordered 40,000 bags, Southern Leyte 30,000 bags, and Bohol 3,000 bags.
The BBM Na! program is a joint initiative of the Department of Agriculture (DA), through Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), and participating local government units (LGUs).
The P13-per-kilo subsidy is equally shared between FTI and the LGUs. President Marcos has allocated P4.5 billion from his contingency fund to support the pilot phase of the program, which extends until December 2025.
He has also directed the DA to sustain the initiative through the end of his term in 2028, reaffirming his full support for its goal of easing the financial burden on vulnerable groups, including senior citizens and low-income families.
Currently, the program is being piloted in the Visayas, select KADIWA ng Pangulo centers, 11 LGUs, and National Housing Authority (NHA) resettlement sites involved in the government’s food security emergency response.
Lacson said the delivery of rice to Cebu is expected to be completed by June, with 240,000 bags to be shipped from NFA warehouses in Mindoro and Iloilo.
He stressed that decongesting warehouses is vital for sustaining palay procurement from local farmers. As of April 30, NFA rice stocks stood at 7.93 million bags—sufficient for a 10-day national consumption buffer.
The agency currently buys palay at P18 to P24 per kilo and is seeking to at least double its P9-billion allocation to increase its market influence and provide stronger support for farmers.