By: Jordeene B. Lagare.

Minimum wage earners in the Philippines will be able to purchase cheaper rice a day after Independence Day, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

The target launch date for selling subsidized rice to minimum wage earners is June 13, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said during a market visit in Muntinlupa City on Thursday.

“It’s kind of a little gift to some of our minimum wage earners for Independence Day. So, that’s the date we chose,” he told reporters.

The DA and the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) are seeking the go signal from President Marcos to include minimum wage earners in the ongoing sale of P20 per kilogram of rice.

Purchase limit

“Of course, these workers are part of organizations or companies that are willing to join the pilot test. But of course, what we’re doing now doesn’t mean it is limited to that,” Tiu Laurel told reporters.

The two government agencies are finalizing the mechanism for expanding the subsidized rice program, with Dole identifying an initial 120,000 minimum wage earners nationwide who will benefit from this initiative.

The purchase limit will be capped at 10 kilos per month.

The Food Terminal Inc. has a budget of P500 million to cover operations, transport and logistics costs for the inclusion of minimum wage earners in affordable rice sale.

“For minimum wage earners, since they earn minimum salary, this will help them augment their budget,” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said at a briefing on Wednesday.

President Marcos on Tuesday vowed to sustain the P20 per kilo rice program until the tail end of this term.

“There are those who are saying it’s just for show; it’s just a cosmetic solution. Well, they are fair to have that opinion that it’s unsustainable. It’s really what people are saying,” the President said at a press briefing after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“Watch me sustain it, and then we will talk in May of 2028,” he said.

The DA intends to expand to include other areas in Luzon and the Visayas in the implementation of second and third phases of the subsidized rice program between July and September.

Published Date: May 30, 2025