President Marcos' move to fulfill his promise to lower the price of rice to as low as P20 per kilo, at least in the Visayas region, was not a political move, Malacañang said.
The move was neither related to the recent drop in Marcos' approval, nor a campaign strategy for the administration senatorial slate considering how vote-rich Visayas is, Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said.
Castro pointed out that the announcement to bring the price of rice to P20 came after years-long discussion and study by the government, and has nothing to do with the recent political developments in the country.
"Unang-una po, sa budget po hindi po agad kinaya or masasabi natin na pinag-aralan kung paano ito mapapatupad at ngayon po na kinakaya po natin. Hindi po ba dapat mas magpunyagi tayo at kumbaga ay sabihin nating isang tagumpay ito ng pamahalaan para sa taumbayan (First of all, the budget could not afford this before, so we can say that its implementation was studied and now, it can finally be done. Shouldn't we strive more and treat this as a victory of the government for the people)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Thursday, April 24.
"Huwag po tayong magpanegatibo, huwag po nating tingnan na hindi maganda at sinasabing pamumulitika po ito. Sabi nga natin, noon pa po ito aspirasyon. So, kung ito man ay natupad, maganda naman po siguro nagkataon dahil ang Visayas areas ay nakipag-cooperate (Let us not be negative, let us not look at this in a bad way and say that it was political. As we have said, this has been the aspiration. And if this was achieved in Visayas because they cooperated)," Castro stressed.
The Palace official underscored that while the rice price development came after Marcos suffered a double-digit dip, it was not the case as it had been discussed a long time ago.
"Wala po. Dahil bago pa po nagkaroon kung anumang survey rating ang napapakita ngayon, noon pa po ito pinag-uusapan (No. Because before the survey rating came, this has been discussed before)," Castro said.
"Hindi po nating sinasabing ngayon lang nagka-budget; ngayon lang po napag-aralang mabuti dahil sa loob po ng mga araw, buwan, taon ito po ay inaaral kung papaano po ito maipapatupad (We are not saying that we were only able to have a budget for it now, it was because we finally came up with a way to implement it after how many days, months, and years)," Castro added.
She explained that it was only now that the government came up with a way to achieve the P20 per kilo of rice through providing subsidies.
Castro also defended the government's move to pilot the program in Visayas, saying that the National Food Authority (NFA) in Visayas has many stocks.
Don't let crab mentality prevail
Castro also called out Vice President Sara Duterte for saying that the move was just another election promise to boost the chances of the Marcos administration senatorial candidates to win the elections.
Duterte accused the administration for fooling the people anew through implementing the P20 per kilo rice program.
"Sana po sa mga lider, ang tunay na lider at ang tunay na Pilipino ay dapat sumusuporta sa kapuwa Pilipino lalung-lalo na sa pinuno ng bansa. Huwag sanang pairalin ang crab mentality at huwag maging anay sa lipunan (A true Filipino leader should support her fellow Filipino, especially the leader of the country. Let us not allow crab mentality to prevail and do not be termites of society)," Castro said.
Meanwhile, Castro said they leave it to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to flag politicians who will use the implementation of the cheaper rice in their campaigns.
Safe for human consumption
Castro said the rice being sold at a lower price was the same kind of rice being sold for P33 per kilo prior to the President's directive.
"Hindi porket po mura ang bigas sasabihin na panghayup ang nasabing bigas. Liliwanagin lamang po natin, ang ibebentang bigas ay iyong bigas po na nabibili ngayon sa halagang 33 pesos (Just because the rice was sold for a lower price, it was only for animal consumption. We just want to clarify that the rice sold for P20 are those sold for P33 before)," Castro said.
According to the Palace official, Marcos is looking to sustain the implementation of the P20-rice until 2028, hoping more local government units (LGUs) could join the program by providing a subsidy.
Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francis Tiu Laurel explained that to reach the P20 rice, the LGUs and the DA—through Food Terminal Inc. (FTI)—will share the price gap in the current market price of rice of P32 to P33.
For instance, with a P13-gap, the FTI and LGU will shoulder P6.50 each to sell the rice at P20.
Step forward
House Speaker Martin Romualdez hailed President Marcos for delivering on his campaign promise of P20 per kilo rice just over halfway into the latter's six-year term.
Romualdez described the initiative as the first big step toward achieving affordable rice for every Filipino family. Rice is the country's staple food.
“Simula pa lang ito. Gagawin nating alaala, kasaysayan na lang ang mahal na bigas. Sa tulong ng whole-of-government effort, masusundan ito hanggang maabot ng programa ang bawat sulok ng bansa,” said the leader of the 306-strong House of Representatives. (This is just the beginning. We will make expensive rice a thing of the past, turning it into a mere memory, a piece of history. Through a whole-of-government effort, this initiative will continue until the program reaches every corner of the country.)
He noted that retail prices—which reached P60 per kilo in some markets last year—have already slid down to the P35 to P39 range for many consumers.
The Speaker praised Visayas local government units (LGUs) for sharing the subsidy cost with the national government. He said this arrangement was the true form of "bayanihan economics".
The Speaker said the House was also considering various proposals to ensure a sustainable and nationwide rollout of an affordable rice program.
Romualdez noted that a "working majority" in the Senate would be critical in ensuring the success of the Marcos administration's initiative of selling rice at P20 per kilo. (With a report from Ellson Quismorio)