Iloilo City rolls out free rice for 42,000 families

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Nearly 42,000 households in Iloilo City will each receive 30 kilos of rice this year after the city government on Monday, June 29, launched a three-tranche distribution program providing 10 kilos of rice per household in each round.

The city government opened the Bigay Bigas sa Masa Rice Program at the La Paz Gymnasium, where the first 1,030 beneficiaries received their rice allocation.

The city received PHP 72 million from the national government through the Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) to implement the program, which will benefit 41,958 households identified by the City Social Welfare and Development Office based on national government guidelines.

The beneficiaries include vulnerable sectors and low-income households identified by the local government, among them senior citizens, persons with disabilities, solo parents, farmers, fisherfolk, transport workers, and indigent families.

“We worked to distribute the rice as early as possible so we can immediately help our residents,” Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu said.

Under the program, each household will receive 10 kilos of rice in June, another 10 kilos in August, and a final 10 kilos in October, for a total of 30 kilos this year.

Following the initial distribution, Treñas-Chu said the succeeding batches will be delivered directly to beneficiaries’ homes to make the process more convenient.

Treñas-Chu said the rice assistance will not end with the three scheduled distributions because the city government has earmarked additional funds to provide beneficiaries with rice and grocery assistance during the Christmas season.

The mayor said the city is prepared to continue the rice assistance program next year even if the national government no longer provides funding.

“Next year, if ever there is no funding from the national government, we will continue the program. This is a good program because families need rice every day,” she said.

The LGSF allocation forms part of the national government’s initiative to release priority funds directly to local government units, enabling faster implementation of assistance programs and reducing bureaucratic delays.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in February ordered the direct release of LGSF funds to local government units to accelerate the implementation of priority programs and services. He issued the directive at the February 23 launch of the “Sa Bagong Pilipinas, Bawat Bayan Makikinabang” program, which raised the LGSF to a record of nearly PHP 58 billion for 2026.

The Bigay Bigas sa Masa program is among several government interventions aimed at cushioning vulnerable families from rising food costs and improving food security at the local level. Retail prices of well-milled rice averaged about PHP 57 per kilo nationwide in early June 2026, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.