Marcos optimistic gov’t can reduce subsidy for P20 per kilo rice program

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he is optimistic that due to improved agricultural productivity, the government could eventually reduce its subsidy for its ‘Benteng Bigas, Meron Na !’ program. — File photo from Sugbo News

[Updated Aug. 6, 2025, 8:53 p.m.]

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is optimistic that the government could eventually reduce its subsidy for the “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!” program as a result of improved agricultural productivity.

He said this in Part 2 of the third episode of the PBBM Podcast, titled “Sa Likod ng Sona,” which aired on Wednesday.

READ: Marcos: Smuggling, spoiled officials caused delay of P20/kilo rice plan

“It should come… As our production improves, that will go down and down,” Marcos said when asked whether the subsidy for the program would reduce in the coming years.

“We’ve already reached the point where we can say, ‘We can do this. We can afford it. We can afford the subsidy’” he continued.

“We’ve already reached the point where we can say, ‘We can do this.’ We can afford it. We can afford the subsidy,” he continued.

The President noted that as the need for subsidies decreases, the coverage of the P20-per-kilo rice program will expand.

As of June, the Benteng Bigas, Meron Na program is available in 87 locations across the country. The cheap rice can be purchased at Kadiwa centers and through local government units.

The Department of Agriculture initially launched the sale of lower-priced rice on May 1, but it had to temporarily suspend the program until May 12 due to the public spending ban ahead of the midterm elections.

In a press briefing on May 28, Marcos vowed to support the program until the end of his term, responding to critics who claimed the initiative would not be sustainable in the long run.

Not after survey results

Marcos also denied that the recently implemented government projects, such as the zero-balance billing for patients in Department of Health-listed hospitals, discounted train rides, and the P20/kilo rice, are his administration’s way of winning back people’s trust and approval.

“Hindi ganoon ang approach namin. We don’t work according to surveys, not really,” he said.

He said these are merely the government’s way of improving the quality of life of Filipinos.

In an Octa Research’s Tugon ng Masa survey conducted from July 12 to 17, Marcos’ trust ratings rose to 64 percent from 60 percent. Meanwhile, his performance rating increased to 62 percent from 59 percent, the highest among all top government officials included in the survey. /das /mr