Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia and House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on the launch of Cebu’s Sugbo Merkadong Barato on Tuesday, Nov. 28. Photo from the Cebu Provincial Government.
MANILA, Philippines — Cebuanos can now avail themselves of rice at P20 per kilogram as the Cebu Provincial Government launched the Sugbo Merkadong Barato (SMB) on Tuesday.
According to the provincial government, SMB provides a pop-up store in all the local government units of the province, available for indigent families in Cebu.
“This fulfills the promise of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. of selling rice at its most affordable,” Governor Gwen Garcia said in her Facebook post.
Garcia earlier said the province would be the first to sell National Food Authority rice at that price.
House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez also graced the event.
In his speech, the Speaker said the program shows the people of Cebu’s determination to overcome challenges and address the impacts of global inflation on essential goods.
“Ngayong araw, napatunayan ng mga Sugbuanon na hindi imposibleng makamit ang pangarap na magkaroon sa merkado ng de-kalidad na bigas sa halagang 20 pesos bawat kilo,” Romualdez said.
(Today, Sugbuanons proved that it is not impossible to achieve the dream of having quality rice at 20 pesos per kilogram in the market.)
“The model adopted by Cebu in providing rice at P20 per kilo is indeed revolutionary and needs to be replicated in all parts of the country,” he added.
The launch was held at the Talisay City Hall.
Aside from affordable rice, the Cebu Provincial Government said that other products such as vegetables, eggs, and meats are also available in SMB at a price lower than in supermarkets.
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