Palace, NFA defend P20/kilo rice quality

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro clarified on Friday that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s P20-per-kilo rice initiative refers to the regular variety currently sold at around P33 per kilo — not the low-quality rice previously described by Vice President Sara Duterte as "fit only for animals."

Castro warned that fake news peddlers might once again attempt to mislead the public by showing poor-quality rice and falsely claiming it is part of the government’s program.

“Mayroon po kaming pasabi na mag-ingat po na malamang ay may manabotahe sa proyektong ito ng pangulo patungkol sa bente pesos per kilo ng bigas (We’d like to issue a reminder to be cautious, as there may be efforts to sabotage the President’s P20 rice project),” she said. “Hindi pa nga nakikita, wala pang nakikitang bigas na ibebenta, pinipintasan na (People are already criticizing even before they see anything — not a single grain of rice is out for sale yet).”

Meanwhile, in a radio interview, National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Larry Lacson also assured the public that rice distributed through the program undergoes regular monthly testing to ensure it meets consumption standards.

“Hindi po tayo magpapalabas ng panget na bigas o hindi na makakain (We will not release substandard or inedible rice),” Lacson emphasized.

He explained that while NFA rice may not match the quality of imported varieties, only rice with no more than 25 percent broken grains will be distributed, and any yellowing rice will be discarded.

Currently, the country has a buffer stock equivalent to 7.56 million bags or about 10 days of supply nationwide.