The Department of Agriculture has suggested a unique gift idea for loved ones this Valentine's Day: rice instead of flowers.
During the sidelines of the Palace briefing on Tuesday, Navarro emphasized the practicality and symbolism of rice as a gift.
He highlighted that rice holds both sustenance and sentiment, unlike purely ornamental flowers.
"What we should give on Valentine's Day to our loved ones: rice, not flowers because you can't eat those," Navarro told Palace reporters.
"(Some flowers) are also prickly because roses have thorns. But rice is sweet. More rice!" Navarro added.
Prices of flowers vs rice
For context, the prices of flowers increased by up to 100 percent in a flower shop at Farmer's Garden in Cubao a day before Valentine's Day.
As of Tuesday, the average price of one rose stem is P150, more than the P75 it used to cost.
A dozen roses cost 1500 pesos, and a half dozen flowers cost P800.
One piece of tulip is also being sold for an average price of P500, which was P250 more than it was worth before.
Meanwhile, government data showed that the average wholesale price of regular milled rice stood at P46.60 per kilo as of January 2024, marking a 1.7 percent increase from December's P45.83 per kilo.
This was a 32.7 percent rise from the previous year, when the average price was only P35.11 per kilo in January 2023.
Also, the average market price of well-milled rice went up by 1.5 percent to P49.96 per kilo last January, which is 28.6 percent more than the P38.28 per kilo price in January 2023.
In the same way, the average market price of special rice went up. In January 2024, it was P55.11 per kilo, which was 1.8 percent more than the previous month.