Jan Elmer Badilla

Around 7 million Filipino families have benefited from the Marcos administration’s nationwide rice distribution program, with Malacañang saying the government remains committed to ensuring that vulnerable households do not go hungry.

Executive Secretary Ralph Recto announced the milestone after leading the distribution of free rice to 55,000 families in Oriental Mindoro under the Bawat Bayan Makikinabang program financed through the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF).“It is important to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that none of our fellow Filipinos go hungry,” Recto said in a statement.

“The President’s directive is to ensure that government programs reach the people,” he added.

Recto said the rice distribution initiative has now reached about 7 million families across the country while also supporting local farmers through government procurement of locally produced rice.

The program forms part of the Bawat Bayan Makikinabang initiative, which also provides scholarship assistance, livelihood support, and other social welfare interventions.

Funding comes from the LGSF, which received a record allocation of P57.872 billion under the 2026 national budget.

Of the total, P37.492 billion was allocated for Financial Assistance to Local Government Units (FALGU), with half earmarked for the rice distribution program. Qualified families are set to receive 10 kilograms of rice every month for six months each year.

“If the implementation of this program becomes successful, we will further increase our LGSF in the next two years,” Recto said.

Local government units oversee the distribution using their population databases to identify beneficiaries.

Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito “Bonz” Dolor said the province procured rice directly from local farmers in line with President Marcos’ directive to prioritize domestic agricultural production.

“The President instructed us to buy palay from our farmers. Instead of purchasing rice from other countries, the provincial government gathered the harvests of our local farmers,” Dolor said.

Published Date: July 20, 2026