P20 rice, slow but sure

The push for P20 per kilo rice, which was the defining 2022 campaign vow of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., remains on track despite the criticisms from rabid detractors that it will not be met.

The Department of Agriculture has rolled out its Rice-for-All program that will sell the grain at P40 per kilo in two stations of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 and Light Rail Transit Line 1 next week at Kadiwa ng Pangulo stalls.

The low-cost rice will be available in the public transport stations where there are a lot of commuters.

The North Avenue and Monumento stations, the MRT3’s Guadalupe station and LRT1’s Taft Avenue and PITX stations were also recommended by the Department of Transportation for the rollout of the P40 per kilo rice, a DA official said.

Next up is DA’s bid to further cut the price of rice with new rice varieties called “sulit rice” and “nutri rice,” which will be sold in a New Year offering.

The sulit rice will be priced at P36 per kilo while the nutri rice will be available at P38 per kilo.

The nutri rice is described as “brownish” while the sulit rice is white but “super broken.”

The DA official said lowering rice prices further would be tricky since the government needs to balance the interests of consumers and farmers.

“There’s a ripple effect if it drops too low. Of course, if I’m planting rice, I might be discouraged from planting more because if it is that low, I might not make any money,” the official said.

PBBM’s commitment of P20 rice has stuck with the public and it remains a work in progress. The trajectory shows the goal is within reach before his term ends in 2028.