The P20/kg rice will begin selling May 1 in Cebu Province, and May 2 in Quezon City. Inquirer file photo. Jordeene Lagare
[Updated April 28, 5:11 p.m.]
MANILA, Philippines 鈥擳he Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday announced that the KADIWA ng Pangulo program will also introduce the P20 Rice Project in KADIWA Centers, following the announcement of its implementation in the Visayas.
In a Viber message to 好色先生TV, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said rice currently priced at P29 per kilo in Kadiwa Centers will be reduced to P20 per kilo starting May 2.
It will be available only to indigents, senior citizens, solo parents, and persons with disabilities.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) will also start selling P20 per kilo rice in Quezon City by the end of the week, a Palace official said on Monday.
The program was initially announced to be piloted in Visayas only until December and possibly until February 2026.
Meanwhile, at a briefing in Malaca帽ang, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the rollout of P20 per kilo rice in the Visayas will begin on May 1.
READ: DA orders NFA to start Visayas rollout of P20-per-kilo rice program
Not politically related
Castro also reiterated during the briefing that the implementation of P20 per kilo rice is not related to the upcoming national and local elections, after Vice President Sara Duterte questioned the timing of the program.
鈥淲hen will we give the horse its due? When that horse is already dead? In politics, there is no timing in providing aid, in providing help to those who need it, especially those on the fringes of society, the timing here is not questioned,鈥� she said in Filipino.
鈥淭here is no political correctness here, it is probably just being said to give a negative impact to what the President is doing to implement the P20 rice price,鈥� Castro also said.
This echoed her statement during a briefing on April 24 that the program carries no political motives.
In a press release on Sunday, Tiu Laurel Jr. said he has directed the National Food Authority to start transferring rice stocks to the Visayas in preparation for the rollout of the P20-per-kilo rice program.
He added that the DA has already secured clearance from the Commission on Elections to roll out the program, despite the upcoming national and local elections.