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Subsidized P20-per-kilo rice rolled out in Cebu
The Department of Agriculture (DA) launched a pilot test for its P20-per-kilo subsidized rice program, "Benteng Bigas Meron Na!" or "KnP20 program" in Cebu City on Labor Day, May 1, 2025.
This initiative fulfills a promise by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to bring down rice prices to P20 per kilo.
The Food Terminal, Inc. and Cebu province signed a memorandum of agreement for the shared subsidy of the pilot test.
Expected to run until December, the pilot test in Cebu will cover other parts of the Visayas, benefiting 800,000 households or about 4 million people.
The DA is preparing to expand the program nationwide until 2028, with at least 16 additional distribution centers set to operate across Metro Manila.
Qualified beneficiaries in Metro Manila, including senior citizens, solo parents, persons with disabilities, and 4Ps recipients, can purchase NFA-sourced rice at P20 per kilo with a 30-kilo monthly cap per household.
Between April 29 and May 1, local government units in Cebu withdrew 3,700 50-kilo bags of rice from the NFA warehouse.
The NFA is repositioning stocks from rice-producing areas in the Visayas and Mindoro to areas like Cebu that have little rice output.
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The Department of Agriculture (DA) is piloting its P20 per kilogram rice program, with one town in Cebu starting sales on April 30, ahead of the official May 1 launch in the province.
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The Department of Agriculture (DA) will pilot a program selling rice at P20 per kilo in the Visayas by next week, following a meeting between Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. and President Marcos.
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The Department of Agriculture (DA) will launch a pilot program selling rice at PHP20 per kilogram, with an initial rollout in Cebu province starting in the first week of May.
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The Department of Agriculture (DA) will launch its "Benteng Bigas Mayroon (BBM) Na" program, offering rice at PHP20 per kilogram for vulnerable sectors in Metro Manila Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) centers on May 13.
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The Philippines has launched a pilot program offering rice at ₱20 per kilo, named Katuparan ng Pangakong P20 na Bigas (KnP20), starting in Cebu City and other Visayas provinces.
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