Cheap rice program to roll out in Cebu City

Local

CEBU CITY is set to join the national rollout of the P20-per-kilo rice program, but its initial launch on July 31 will be limited to just 52 pilot beneficiaries.

The ceremonial launch, to be held at Plaza Sugbo, marks the city’s first participation in the “Walang Gutom 2027: Food Stamp Program,” a flagship anti-hunger initiative of the Marcos administration.

The event is being led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Central Visayas (DSWD-7), in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), and select Kadiwa retailers.

Only a small number of beneficiaries from Cebu City and Talisay City will receive the subsidized rice during the pilot as part of a test run before a wider local distribution is finalized.

Mayor Nestor Archival Sr. said the city is still in the process of reviewing a draft memorandum of agreement (MOA) with FTI, which will formalize Cebu City’s entry into the program.

“This is good for the poor… We are willing to help… Rice is a basic need,” Archival said in Cebuano on Wednesday, July 30.

The P20 rice program is implemented under the Kadiwa ng Pangulo framework. Rice sourced from the National Food Authority (NFA) is sold to FTI at P26.50 per kilo. To bring the retail price down to P20, FTI and the local government each provide a P3.25 subsidy per kilo.

Once the MOA is signed, Cebu City will be allowed to withdraw stocks directly from NFA warehouses and sell them through designated Kadiwa outlets in various barangays.

Archival confirmed that the draft agreement has been forwarded to the City Council’s agriculture committee for review and final coordination with FTI representatives.

In his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the program has proven feasible without reducing farmers' earnings.

He announced that P20 rice is already being sold in over 120 locations across the country, including in Cebu, Siquijor, Pangasinan, Bacolod City, and Davao del Sur.(TGP)