On August 20, 2025, the Department of Agriculture (DA) expanded the government’s “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na! Para sa Magsasaka” project to some parts of the country.
The program takes effect on Laoag City, Ilocos Norte; Roxas, Capiz; San Jose, Occidental Mindoro; and Sitio Baloy in Barangay Tablon Cagayan de Oro City.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Laurel P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said that the P20 rice program will also include the fishport and fisherfolk workers listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture.
“Eligible individuals may purchase up to 10 kilos of subsidized rice per month,” Tiu added.
The fisheries sector’s initial beneficiaries also include the communities in Lucena City, Quezon; Navotas; and Sual, Pangasinan.
In accordance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order, the program will expand in the coming weeks and months, reaching a target of up to 15 million households by next year.
Furthermore, Marcos ordered the release of an additional P10 billion funds as support for the Rice Subsidy Program in 2026.
He also instructed the DA to sustain this program until the end of his term in June 2028.
The Food Terminal Inc. already sold 70 metric tons of rice coming from the National Food Authority (NFA) stocks since the release of the initial rollout last August 13, 2025, indicating a strong public demand for affordable rice.
Back in 2022, one of Marcos’s key campaign promises was the reduction of rice’s retail price to P20 per kilo.
Critics, however, indicated the heavily subsidized rice as “unsustainable.”
