By: Ruchelle Denice Demaisip.

ILOILO CITY — The Iloilo City government is rallying behind the plan of the Department of Agriculture (DA) plan to sell rice at P20 per kilo.

“We never had funds for that because this is a very new program,” Mayor Jerry Treñas said on Monday, following a recent meeting with the DA regional director.

“(But) we will have to reallocate some funds because for me, it is going to be a big help for our residents. We are ready to support. We will wait for the guidelines,” he noted.

Every third week of the month, the city’s Kadiwa Merkado Lokal offers rice-for-all at P29 per kilo during its Thursday and Friday market days.

The city also received a P1.9 million donation from Bombo Radyo Philippines Foundation Inc. to support the purchase of raw ingredients for the rice-mongo-sesame blend.

This mixture is a complementary food mix for children aged 6 to 59 months.

“This is again one step in preparing for their future,” said Treñas.

“Iloilo has one of the lowest rates of malnourished children. But we should not stop there because the better nutrition they have, the easier it is to teach them,” he added.

The blend — a Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-developed formula — will complement the city’s ongoing nutrition initiatives, including the production of enhanced nutribun bread for daycare centers.

Treñas stressed that the city would also look for additional funding sources to ensure sustainability of the nutrition programs.

In April, President Marcos quietly flew to Cebu for an unannounced closed door meeting with the Visayas governors at the Cebu provincial capitol.

He discussed the initial rollout of the P20-per-kilo of rice program in Visayas.

The program was implemented in Cebu on May 1 but only to be suspended the next day by the DA.

The suspension comes following a warning from the Commission on Elections that selling rice at P20 per kilo still fell under “ayuda” or assistance that is prohibited 10 days before the May 12 elections.

The program could resume on May 13 when the prohibition had ended.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. earlier told reporters that the program to sell rice at P20 per kilo would be launched in Visayas.

The beneficiaries include areas in Central, Western and Eastern Visayas as well as Negros Island Region because “there are more people in need in these regions.”

But he said the eventual intention of this program is to launch it nationwide./apl

Published Date: May 27, 2025