CEBU CITY – A party-list representative expressed confidence that the campaign promise of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of bringing down the price of rice to P20 per kilo is still possible.

AGRI party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee discusses a bill that he filed that aims to reduce the price of rice in the country during a press briefing in Cebu on Sunday, February 11. (Calvin D. Cordova)

AGRI party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee said this can be done if House Bill No. 9020 or the Cheaper Rice Act that he filed will be passed into law.

Lee explained that under the proposed bill, the government will have to push for a price subsidy program for farmers. With the program, farmers will earn profits and boost their production.

“For me, the summary of the bill is making sure that the farmers who want to sell rice will have a sure income,” said Lee, who was in Cebu on Sunday, February 11, to grace various events.

Lee’s bill is still on the committee level. If passed into law, the government would need to allocate P100 billion to P200 billion for program implementation.

Lee said addressing the issue of food security is a must. “First of all, for me, food security is also a national security issue,” said Lee.

Under the bill, the Department of Agriculture, in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry and other government agencies, should buy rice from farmers at higher prices and sell the staple to consumers at cheaper cost.

“If the farmgate price of the rice is P20, the government should buy it for P5 or P10 higher. That way, the farmers will earn per kilo,” said Lee.

Providing technical assistance to the farmers to increase their harvest while reducing their rice production cost must also be made available. 

"Higher rice production and lesser production cost will help the farmers,” Lee said. By making sure that rice farming yields a good income, the younger generation will also be enticed to farming, thus, ensuring food security in the country, he added.