Negros Occidental Joins P20 Rice Program Rollout

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY – Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the provincial government will join the national government’s initiative to sell rice at PHP20 per kilo.

“It might take a while. I don’t think it can be done immediately,” Lacson said Friday.

He said the program will be initially rolled out by local government units in the Visayas.

Lacson said he received a call last week from Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.

He noted that a meeting among the governors of the three provinces under the Negros Island Region was scheduled to discuss the matter.

However, Lacson said he was unable to attend because he had been invited by local candidates to join their political rallies.

Garcia, he said, brought up the idea of selling rice at PHP20 per kilo and explained how the program would be implemented.

He also said, “We are waiting because Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. will be meeting with all DA regional directors on Monday to discuss the mechanics of how they will go about with the program.”

Lacson added he needs clarity on how local government units will fund the rice purchases.

Under the program, indigent Filipinos will be eligible to buy rice at PHP20 per kilo.

Each family will be allowed to purchase up to 10 kilograms per week, or a total of 40 kilograms per month.

Currently, the National Food Authority has about 358,000 metric tons of rice stocks, which will last for over nine days—more than halfway toward the target national buffer stock of 15 days.

The actual market price of the rice is PHP33 per kilo, with the remaining PHP13 per kilo to be subsidized by local and national government units.