While it’s true that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has made available to the market rice priced at just P20 per kilo, the staple grain could be bought at this amount only from 125 government-subsidized stores.
CLAIM: President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s administration has proven it was possible to bring the price of rice to P20 per kilo — a 2022 campaign promise that appealed to the masses.
RATING: Needs Context
In his fourth State of the Nation Address marking the midpoint of his term, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. brought up his signature campaign promise in 2022: reducing rice prices down to P20 per kilo. He said this had proven to be sustainable without farmers suffering losses.
“Napatunayan na natin na kaya na natin ang P20 sa bawat kilo ng bigas nang hindi malulugi ang ating mga magsasaka,” Marcos Jr. said at Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on July 28.
Marcos Jr. launched “Benteng Bigas Meron Na” on May 15 in Kadiwa centers, government-funded stores where commodities are supposedly more accessible and affordable.
However, only 125 Kadiwa centers offer rice at P20 per kilo as of July 8, a tiny number compared with other stores across the country that source grains locally or overseas and without government subsidy.
Prices were higher in non-government stores: P38.68 to P57.70 for local commercial rice, and P39.28 to P55.94 for imported commercial rice.
Department of Agriculture (DA) price monitoring data from July 21 to July 26 also showed local commercial rice prices in Kadiwa stores still reaching P43 per kilo.
In June, Marcos Jr. said the national government would start shouldering the cost of the P20-per-kilo rice program, citing improvements in rice processing, better irrigation, and mechanization that will sustain the project. Micah G. Pascua
