The Department of Agriculture (DA) yesterday vowed to roll out a mobile application that will help in the efficient and transparent distribution of a P20 per kg rice in the country by next month.
In a statement yesterday, the DA said the app is scheduled for launch on October 1.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. promised that the app would be beneficial for the sale of the subsidized rice stocks, which will now be expanded to jeepney and tricycle drivers by September 16, 2025 in five pilot areas.
“We’re coordinating with Department of Transportation who holds the TODA (Tricycle Operators and Drivers Associations) database,” Tiu Laurel revealed.
Navotas City, will be one of the first pilot areas, which has a list of 4,000 accredited drivers, Tiu Laurel added.
At present, the sale of the P20 per kg rice program is limited to solo parents, senior citizens, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries, persons with disabilities, minimum wage earners, rice farmers and fisherfolk.
DA said that after jeepney and tricycle drivers, also lined up to be the next beneficiaries of the subsidized rice stocks are those that are part of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Walang Gutom program which are mostly low-income households.
The agency also promised that low-income staff of the Department of Education will likewise allowed to purchase P20 per kg rice supply.
DA explained that the phased rollout of the P20 per kg rice will also be instrumental in gathering critical data on rice consumption, logistics, and supply requirements.
This will guide the DA in planning a nationwide expansion of the program in 2026, which the government envisions will reach 15 million households by June 2028.
As of August 17, 2025, DA claimed that the P20 per kg rice program is available in a total of 211 sites nationwide.
Meanwhile, DA spokesman Arnel de Mesa said the ban on rice imports is now in full effect as the government stopped the issuance of import permits and phytosanitary permits at the start of the month.
But he clarified that those who already ordered for imported rice shipments last month will still be allowed entry, but only until September 15 in order to avoid trade disruptions.
“It is possible that no imported rice will enter the country from September 15 to November 15,” de Mesa explained.
DA said that for the month of August, a total order of 419,000 metric tons (MT) covered by 210 Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearances were received.
The agency said that of the 419,000, around 264,000 MT has already entered the Philippines.
Meanwhile, de Mesa said that based on data from the Bureau of Plant Industry, from January to August 28, 2025, the total volume of imported rice that reached the country was at 2.8 million MT.
He also said that the DA has monitored some upward movements in the price of rice in the market that may be due to the import ban but nothing significant at the moment.
“Technically, it now lies to our buyers to not support the purchase of more expensive rice especially since if they will check the quality of available stocks, there are cheaper varieties but has the same qualities of those that are expensive,” the DA official added.
DA also assured that it continues to monitor rice prices in the market nationwide, adding that representatives of rice importers associations were warned that they may be blacklisted or be relieved of their import permits in the future if found to have been involved in anti-competitive behavior.
“Before the 60-day rice import ban was announced, we have palay prices that are P8 to P10 per kg but when it was announced, it improved to P14 to P15 per kg and there were even places that went up from P8 to P12 per kg and then to P12 to P13 per kg. It has helped but I admit that it is still lacking,” de Mesa said.
He called the import ban as only a temporary solution and a long-term solution is still the amendment of the Rice Tariffication Law.
