P20 rice program not wage hike substitute — DOLE

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said on Thursday that including the inclusion of minimum wage earners on those who can avail the government’s P20 rice program or the “Benteng Bigas Meron Na!” is not meant to replace the proposed wage hike.  

In a statement, Laguesma pointed out that the program has only just begun, yet it is already drawing criticism.

“This is not a replacement for the additional [wage hike] he is referring to… We are allowing the process to move forward in our Congress regarding the proposed bill that will add an across-the-board 200,” Laguesma said. 

This clarification follows the criticisms of Secretary General of the Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL) Joshua Mata, who argued that the rice subsidy is not a sustainable solution. Mata reiterated that what workers urgently need is the proposed P200 wage increase.

The labor secretary also said they should be allowed to implement the pilot program, which will run from June to December, emphasizing that it is the executive branch’s duty to provide immediate relief to workers while the proposed wage hike is still pending in Congress.

“From June to December, we will see what can go wrong, what are the good aspects of the implementation so that in the wide rollout this coming 2026, we can address the possible hitches along the implementation.”

The House version of the bill proposing a P200 wage hike was approved at the committee level before the Congress last February before it adjourned for the midterm elections. 

The Senate, however, has a separate version that proposes only a P100 increase. Lawmakers must reconcile these differences before the 19th Congress ends.

According to DOLE, around 120,000 minimum wage earners may benefit from the program, with each beneficiary allowed to purchase up to 10 kilograms of rice per month.

Laguesma also said the department is working on proper information dissemination to ensure that eligible workers are aware of the program and how to access it.