Speaker backs DA’s plan to sell rice at P20 per kilo

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MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Thursday said the House of Representatives will do what it can to support the Marcos administration in rolling out affordable rice.

The speaker said this can be done by legislating laws that establish new financing mechanisms and support agricultural modernization.

Romualdez made the pronouncement after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Department of Agriculture to sell rice at P20 per kilogram in Visayas until December—or if possible, until 2028.

READ: DA will start selling rice at P20 per kilo – Tiu Laurel

“Simula pa lang ito. Gagawin nating alaala, kasaysayan na lang ang mahal na bigas,” Romualdez said in a statement.

(This is just the beginning. We will make expensive rice just a memory. It will be history.)

“Sa tulong ng whole-of-government effort, masusundan ito hanggang maabot ng programa ang bawat sulok ng bansa,” he said.

(With the help of a whole-of-government effort, this can be followed until the program reaches every corner of the country.)

According to Romualdez, agricultural modernization entails mechanization, high-quality seed distribution, soil-health programs, and solar-powered irrigation.

He believes when these situations become a reality, the vision of affordable rice will endure beyond its pilot implementation.

“Marami pa tayong batas na dapat ipasa para maipagpatuloy at mapalawig ang P20-rice program,” he said.

(We still have many laws to pass to continue and extend the P20-per-kilo rice program.)

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced the pilot selling of rice at P20 per kilogram after a closed-door meeting with Marcos in Cebu.

Present in the event were 12 governors in Visayas.

Romualdez said the Visayas launch of the program will enable the Department of Agriculture to assess its warehousing capacity, inter-island shipping routes, and Kadiwa retail points before a wider rollout may be done.