The Province of Cebu will resume selling rice at P29 per kilogram.

Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said the new pricing now aligns with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s program to sell rice at a reduced price of P29 per kilo.

Garcia said this will benefit the “poorest of the poor” residents of the province as it could be a relief amid the current market prices that have soared up to P60 per kilo.

“We are happy to inform the Cebuanos that we have an initial supply of 5,000 sacks of rice. We shall resume selling cheap rice to the poorest of the poor, aligning with the President’s program to sell it at P29 per kilo. This is still way below the present market prices and will help our constituents a lot,” she said.

Previously, the province relied on the National Food Authority to sell rice at P25 per kilo. But complications arose when a memo from the former NFA administrator banned rice sales without the NFA approval.

The newly appointed NFA administrator Larry Lacson in his recent visit in Cebu agreed with Garcia that initially 5,000 sacks from NFA will be allocated for the province.

Garcia cited that the Capitol will be utilizing QR code cards to ensure fair distribution of the rice. These cards will be issued to identified beneficiaries provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development Central Visayas allowing them to purchase 3 to 5 kilos of rice per week.

Once the allocated quantity is purchased, the QR code will automatically disable further purchases until the following week.

“This system limits the supply to ensure it won’t be abused,” the governor stressed.

“We are doing this through QR code cards, and the list will be supplied by the DSWD region because they have identified the poorest of the poor. When they purchase the rice for the week, the QR code ensures they can only buy the allocated amount,” she explained.