ILOILO CITY (PIA) –- The implementation of the P20-per-kilo rice program in the province will benefit families with undernourished children, aiming to improve food security and nutrition among the most vulnerable sectors.
The Iloilo Provincial Government launched Executive Order No. 040 implementing the “SiPag at TiyaGa (Siguradong Pagkain, Tiyak na Galing-Kalusugan ) for MoRProGRes sa Bagong Pilipinas”, in response to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s nationwide call to make rice more affordable for vulnerable sectors and to strengthen food security across the country.
Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. announced that the implementation of the P20-per-kilo rice program in the province will benefit families with undernourished children, aiming to improve food security and nutrition among the most vulnerable sectors, specifically by providing affordable rice to families enrolled in the province’s nutrition program.
“The most viable and reasonable target for the murang bigas subsidized by the government, e di sa may gutom. Reasonable kasi kaya natin, at least in the short term. Kaya natin in the short term,” Defensor said.
The Provincial Health Office (PHO) revealed that there are 11,776 undernourished children in Iloilo in 2024 based to the data of the Operation Timbang Plus of the Department of Health (DOH).
The provincial government has allocated a ₱19 million subsidy for the program.
“Ang target natin na RPB (Rice Para sa Bayan @20) P20 ang malnutrition program natin, ang mga pamilya na may undernourished children. We know who they are, we know where they are, because we have already given assistance to them in the past,” Defensor added.
Meanwhile, the executive order also outlines a long-term strategy through the Intensified Rice Program, which aims to boost Iloilo’s rice production to six (6) metric tons per hectare.
This program will be implemented in MoRProGRes Farms with the assistance of the Department of Agriculture and the provincial government. The support provided to the farms will be recovered in the form of palay, which will be milled and sold at the lowest viable cost to the identified beneficiaries. *(EAD-JNH/PIA Iloilo)
