ILOILO City – Minimum wage earners in Western Visayas can now buy rice at just P20 per kilogram under a new government initiative aimed at mitigating the effects of rising food prices on the working poor.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas, together with the National Food Authority (NFA) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), officially launched the “Benteng Bigas Meron Na!” (BBM Rice) Program on June 13 at the NFA Compound in Jaro, Iloilo City.
The program allows qualified beneficiaries to purchase up to 10 kilos of subsidized rice per month through their employers.
The pilot implementation will run from June to December 2025 and targets around 4,500 minimum wage earners across 33 companies in the region, mainly from manpower agencies and construction firms.
“This initiative is part of our broader effort to increase food affordability and ease financial burdens on our most vulnerable workers,” said DOLE Region 6 assistant regional director Melissa Navarra. “During the first day of the rollout, around 50 construction workers already received rice at the discounted rate.”
The P20 per kilo price is made possible through a P13 per kilo subsidy from the DA and Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI), which bridges the gap from the standard NFA price of P29 per kilo. Beneficiary companies entered into a memorandum of agreement with FTI and NFA to handle the rice distribution internally.
Navarra said DOLE will validate the list of beneficiaries submitted by partner firms to ensure only minimum wage earners avail of the discount. She added that the program could expand beyond 2025 depending on its success and funding availability.
“If a worker can save P100 to P200 monthly from rice alone, that money can be redirected to other necessities,” DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma was quoted as saying.
DA Western Visayas OIC-Regional Technical Director Maria Teresa Solis said the initiative fulfills President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s promise to make rice more affordable for low-income Filipinos. NFA Iloilo Acting Branch Manager Dr. Glenda Paz emphasized that all rice under the program is locally sourced, thereby supporting Filipino farmers.
Beneficiaries have welcomed the program.
“Outside, we buy rice for P55 per kilo. This P20 rice is a big relief,” said Herman Ollano, a construction worker.
“Now we can stretch our wages for other family needs,” added his colleague Rolando Casipe./PN
