Harlene Delgado, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Department of Agriculture said it is willing to abide by the decision of the Commission on Elections should the P20-per-kilogram rice program be included in the 10-day spending ban.

Agriculture spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said they will seek clarifications before the poll body.

“Tatalima tayo, ang ating kagawaran, sa mga tagubilin ng ating Comelec at inaasahan nga natin ngayong araw na magkakaroon tayo ng clarification doon sa mga issues pa na dapat pag-usapan,” he said in a television interview Wednesday, April 30.

“Inaasahan nga natin kung sakali man na itong May 2 hanggang May 12 ay mayroong pagbabawal, sa May 13 ay nakahanda naman tayo na mag-implement na ng programa,” De Mesa added.

On April 24, the poll body approved the poll spending ban exemption request of the agriculture department for the P20 per kilo of rice project — a campaign promise of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

‘ALL SYSTEMS GO’

The agriculture department will launch the pilot implementation of the program in Cebu on May 1, Thursday.

Around 800,000 households or four million individuals can benefit from the program, according to De Mesa.

“For tomorrow sa Cebu ay all systems go tayo para sa official launch nitong ating programa para sa bente pesos na bigas. Ito iyong ating ‘Benteng Bigas Mayroon Na’, ito iyong official title ng ating programa at makakaasa iyong ating mga kababayan na magsisimula na tayo,” he stated.

De Mesa also assured that mechanisms are in place to make sure that only eligible beneficiaries of the vulnerable sector will be prioritized.

The agency is looking into expanding the program to low-income families and local government units who participated in the food security emergency declaration previously.

“Base doon sa stocks actually na mayroon iyong NFA sa ngayon, nasa 370,000 hanggang 380,000 metric tons, kaya pa natin itong i-expand doon sa mga low income families natin hanggang 10 million households iyan,” the official said.

“At pinag-aaralan din beyond December 2025 of course, at may mga pagpupulong na paano ito i-expand from 2026 hanggang 2028,” he noted.

‘QUALITY RICE’

De Mesa also assured the public that only quality rice will be released and distributed.

“More than six months na itong implementasyon ay wala tayong nari-receive na mga complains regarding dito sa ating Rice for All, doon sa ating P29. At makakaasa iyong ating mga kababayan doon sa quality dahil ito ay galing mismo sa ating mga magsasaka na tanim nila at harvest din nila,” he said.

Published Date: April 30, 2025