The Department of Agriculture signed separate agreements with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) on Monday to expand the sale of the P20 per kilogram rice to minimum wage earners.
Agriculture Secretary Francis Tiu Laurel and Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma announced that DA and DOLE have decided to expand the sale of the P20/kg rice from the current 120,000 minimum wage earners to up to 600,000 of them within 2025.
Tiu Laurel and Laguesma formalized the inclusion of minimum wage earners among the beneficiaries of the subsidized rice initiative through a signed memorandum of agreement.
The other vulnerable sectors who can buy the P20/kg rice are the solo parents, persons with disabilities, senior citizens and the low-income households identified in the government’s cash aid system, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
“This program is a targeted initiative and will not directly benefit every Filipino, but its ripple effects through stronger consumer spending and economic activity will… When workers can stretch their income and farmers earn better from their harvests, the entire economy benefits,” Tiu Laurel said.
The collaboration will ensure that eligible groups such as labor unions, workers’ associations, and cooperatives can access livelihood assistance and services of Kadiwa outlets, Tiu Laurel and Laguesma said.
The DA said that DOLE has decided to increase the number of minimum wage earners who can buy the P20/kg rice from the current 120,000 to as many as 500,000 to 600,000 workers within 2025.
“We simply want for more people to benefit. We saw that over 100,000 is small but numbers are always relative. We also just want to assure that it will be sustainable and will not be a one-time thing,” Laguesma said.
“We have instructed our regional directors to engage with companies in their regions to verify that all worker-beneficiaries of the Benteng Bigas Meron Na program are indeed eligible and qualified,” Laguesma added.
The labor secretary said the DOLE would tap at least 6,000 workers preferably from the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program to man retail outlets.
He added they may tap more workers as drivers and utility personnel.
“Under the TUPAD guidelines, there are 10 days at the minimum, and maximum of 90 days of work period for participants so we will still have a discussion with the DA,” Laguesma added.
In a parallel move, Tiu Laurel and Ma. Theresa Sawit, the National Carabao-based Enterprise Development Coordinator, also signed an agreement integrating 48 Dairy Box outlets into the Kadiwa network.
The Dairy Box is a PCC initiative supporting smallholder dairy farmers and entrepreneurs.
“The inclusion of the Dairy Box outlets in Kadiwa expands market access for dairy producers while promoting locally sourced, nutritious products… This partnership strengthens the link between our farmers and Filipino consumers,” Sawit said.
She added that this integration would empower dairy farmers and uplift producers across various agricultural sectors by connecting them to national supply and demand channels.
Based on the DA’s monitoring of public markets in the National Capital Region, local well-milled rice sold for P38 to P52 per kg on Friday (June 13), while regular milled rice went for P30 to P45 per kg.
Imported well-milled rice was selling for P38 to P48 per kg while the price of imported regular milled rice ranged from P36 to P45 per kg.
Special-variety imported rice fetched P52 to P61 and premium rice, P43 to P50.
Special-variety local rice was selling for P50 to P65 per kg., while premium rice went for P44 to P60 per kg.
These varieties are priced based on regular market forces and factors, and are not subsidized.
