President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the launch of the “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!” program in Bacoor City, Cavite.
The goal of the program is to help Filipino families who are struggling with the rising prices of goods. Through this program, rice is being sold at only ₱20 per kilo.
The program was first planned to start in the Visayas as a pilot test but was later expanded to cities outside Metro Manila.
The government hopes to help 15 million people across the country next year and continue the program until 2028.
In Bacoor, 500 sacks of rice from local farmers were brought to the KADIWA ng Pangulo outlet at the Zapote-Bacoor Public Market. This rice will be sold at ₱20 per kilo to 2,500 residents, giving each one 10 kilos.
The rice was bought by Food Terminal Inc. from the National Food Authority (NFA) and is being sold through KADIWA outlets and other partner stores.
Starting from the launch day, people can regularly buy ₱20 rice at the Zapote-Bacoor Public Market.
According to the Department of Agriculture, over 105,000 families in Luzon and Visayas bought more than 800,000 kilos of rice from May 13 to June 30.
The beneficiaries include senior citizens, solo parents, persons with disabilities (PWDs), poor families, and minimum wage earners.
