Janelle Quirante, a mother from Barangay Ilaya, Dumanjug, Cebu, the P20/kilo of rice would benefit Filipino families as rice is a crucial staple food for Filipinos. (PIA7)
CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) — Senior citizen Dionisia Ordanixa, 81, of Barangay Dumanjug in Dumanjug town said the P20 per kilo rice is a big help for poor families.
“Lugos jud mi makapalit anang tag-P40 ang kilo kay pobre jud mi kaayo,” said Ordanixa.
(We can barely afford rice at P40 per kilo because we are very poor.)
She hopes the rice program will restart soon, as it is one of the Marcos administration’s promises to the people.
Ordanixa was one of the beneficiaries who was able to buy rice at P20 per kilo when the program rolled out in Cebu on May 1, a day before the program was paused due to the election-related aid ban.
The P20 Rice Program was initially sold for vulnerable sectors such as senior citizens, solo parents, persons with disabilities, and beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
For Janelle Quirante, a mother from Barangay Ilaya, Dumanjug, the affordable rice would benefit Filipino families as rice is a staple food.
“Ang mga tao karon nanginahanglan baya kaayo sa bugas… bisan kinsa nga President di man na siguro mahimong vote-buying kay ang atoa karon atong giapas kay ang bugas nga makapalit ang mga tao kay nagkinahanglan ang mga tao ana.”
(People now really need rice… I don’t think the affordable rice program is considered vote-buying because no matter who the President is, people will always need rice and they are after rice that they can afford to buy.)
Looking ahead
Despite the temporary pause on the sale of the P20/kilo of rice due to the election-related aid ban, Pres. Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. expressed confidence that the program would continue to grow, helping both consumers and farmers by stabilizing rice prices and supporting local production.
“Kaya’t sinimulan po namin ito pag-upo. Dahan-dahan dumadami na. Kaya’t kaya na naming gawin ito. Pinalitan pa natin ang batas ng NFA, halimbawa, at marami pa po tayong gagawin. Ngunit ngayon matibay-tibay na ang agricultural sector natin,” said Marcos during his visit in Dumanjug, Cebu on May 5.
He emphasized that making rice available to qualified households at P20 per kilo was a central pledge of his 2022 campaign.
The President explained that the program required time to implement because it involved strengthening support for local farmers, providing modern machinery, building processing centers, and reforming the National Food Authority (NFA).
“Hindi po naabot kaagad dahil ito po ay kailangan ayusin po natin ang ating pagtulong sa ating mga magsasaka. Kailangan bigyan natin sila ng mga makinarya. Kailangan magtayo tayo ng mga processing center,” Marcos said.
(We could not achieve this immediately because we needed to fix our support for our farmers. We needed to give them machinery. We needed to build processing centers.)
He reiterated that a strengthened agricultural sector and effective collaboration with local governments are key to making the P20 per kilo rice dream a reality.
“Mahalaga para sa national government na maganda ang ugnayan sa ating mga local government. Kung hindi, ang katotohanan eh kahit anong programa na ilulunsad ng national government, hindi po mararamdaman ng mga lokal kapag hindi maayos din ang patakbo ng local government,” he added.
The P20 per kilo rice program stands as a flagship achievement for the Marcos administration, symbolizing progress in food security and government responsiveness to public needs. (MYP/PIA7 Cebu)
