Guimaras Launches PHP20 Rice Program for 1,000 Residents

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The provincial government of Guimaras officially launched its PHP20-per-kilo rice program on Tuesday, July 8, becoming the first in Western Visayas to implement the government-subsidized rice initiative.

The initial rollout targeted 1,000 low-income families and members of vulnerable sectors, including 4Ps beneficiaries, persons with disabilities, senior citizens and solo parents.

The program aims to benefit up to 25,000 households across the province, with each household entitled to a maximum of 10 kilos of rice.

To ensure accessibility and orderly implementation, the provincial government plans to decentralize distribution through local government units.

While the province will oversee implementation in each municipality, LGUs will assist with logistics and community-level coordination.

In early June, the provincial government signed a memorandum of agreement with Food Terminal, Inc. to procure 5,000 bags of rice from the National Food Authority.

The provincial government allocated PHP1.625 million for the rice procurement.

Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Roger Navarro addressed concerns about the program’s sustainability, emphasizing that it is designed for a targeted portion of the population.

“Some traders are afraid and say no one will buy from them anymore, but that’s not true,” he said.

“The target is only 15 million people. The Philippine population is 118 million. That leaves more than 100 million to continue buying from the market.”

He also encouraged local farmers who have received government support to sell their produce to the NFA to strengthen local food security.

“We need to recognize our responsibility to help ensure our communities remain food secure,” Navarro added.

NFA-6 Manager Jasmin Lintag said their agency offers competitive buying prices—an average of PHP18 per kilogram and up to PHP24 for clean and dry palay.

Lintag assured that all NFA rice distributed in the program is 100 percent locally sourced and contains no imported rice.

Meanwhile, DA-6 Regional Executive Director Dennis Arpia highlighted the growing support for agriculture under the Marcos administration.

“Since I came here two years ago, the DA-6 budget has increased by PHP2 billion,” Arpia said.

“This shows that programs like this do not reduce the assistance we provide to our farmers.”