MANILA – Rice that will be rolled out for P20 per kilo in the Visayas next week are not low quality, as alleged by Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, according to Presidential Communications Office’s Undersecretary Claire Castro.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s P20-per-kilo rice initiative refers to the current regular variety of rice sold at around P 33 per kilo, she clarified.
Castro also cautioned the public against those who spread misleading claims by showing substandard rice and falsely claiming it is what the government is offering.
“Hindi po pang hayop ang P20 per kilo na bigas. Hindi pa nga nakikita, wala pang nakikitang bigas na ibebenta, pinipintasan na,” Castro said in a media briefing at Malacañang Palace.
In an ambush interview during a campaign sortie in Manila on Thursday night, Duterte-Carpio said the implementation of the P20 per kilo of rice was now “too little, too late.”
“Hindi ‘yan pagiging ano eh, na mapag-puna. Nagsasabi ako ng totoo. It’s a campaign promise, iyong P20 per kilo na rice, and ngayon lang in-implement na panahon ng eleksyon,” the Vice President said.
“Sabi ko nga, too little, too late to comply with the campaign promise, at para lang din sa Visayas kung saan mahina ang numero ng mga kandidato ni BBM,” she added.
She also aised concerns that the government might sell rice that can be used as feed for pigs.
The Department of Agriculture recently announced the sale of rice at P20 per kilo, which will be piloted in Visayas. He said Marcos wants it to be implemented across the country in the long run./PN
