PBBM says PH is getting closer to P20/kilo rice aspiration

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stated on Wednesday that the Philippines is getting closer to achieving his campaign promise of rice at P20 per kilogram, but he conceded that there was still work to be done.

At the nationwide launch of the Kadiwa ng Pasko Project in Mandaluyong City on November 17, the President said they are now able to sell rice at P25 per kilo through the National Food Authority (NFA).

“The NFA does not profit from it. The price when it bought the rice is the same when it resells it, that is why the price is at P25,” Marcos said in Filipino.

“We are close to our aspiration to sell [rice] at P20 [per kilo]. We will do it gradually. We can achieve that but we would still have to do a lot of things for it,” he added.

The Kadiwa ng Pasko project was designed to address inflation by providing the people with affordable goods especially during the holiday season in coordination with the Department of Agriculture as the lead agency, Malacanang said.

Fourteen sites were opened simultaneously across the country on Wednesday, including 11 in the National Capital Region, one in Tacloban City, one in Davao De Oro, and one in Koronadal City, South Cotabato.

Joining the President at the program’s launch was First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos.

The program aims to provide a market for farmers and fishers for their produce without having to go through traders and middlemen.

Netizens, however, aren’t holding their breath.