More consumers will have access to the government's P29 rice per kilo program, as the Department of Agriculture (DA) added three more Kadiwa sites in Metro Manila selling the staple grain for a lower price.

According to DA Assistant Secretary for Consumer and Legislative Affairs Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra, Program 29 (P29) will also be launched in   KADIWA centers in Malabon, Navotas, and Nangka, Marikina. 

She added that P29 will also be launched on another three sites in two neighboring provinces of Metro Manila before the month ends.

“We continue to learn from this large-scale trial, particularly on the demand for low-priced rice, [the] amount and source of supply, and [the] logistics needed to sustain this program and expand it across the country,”  Guevarra said.

“We are also looking at areas outside Metro Manila where there are plenty of vulnerable households. President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., wants to make sure this program will benefit the most number of Filipinos at the longest time possible,” she added.

Last Friday, 5 July, DA initially launched the P29 at 10 KADIWA sites  located in the offices of the Bureau of Animal Industry and National Irrigation Administration in Quezon City; the Bureau of Plant Industry in Manila; Food Terminal Inc. in Taguig City; PhilFIDA in Las Pinas; Caloocan City; Valenzuela City; and Brgy. Fortune and BF City (BFCT) in Marikina City; and San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan.

Beneficiaries of the program include senior citizens, single parents, persons with disabilities, and beneficiaries of the government’s 4Ps program.

Meanwhile, the DA said on Monday that the Rice for All Program, where rice will be sold to the general public for a price ranging from P45 to P48 per kilo or lower, will be implemented alongside P29 to Kadiwa centers  this July.