DA: Nearly 1M Filipinos benefited from P20/kg rice in Sept. 2026

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The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Saturday said almost 1 million Filipinos benefited from the Marcos administration's rice-for-all initiative last September.

According to data from the DA, a total of 961,346 beneficiaries were recorded in September—the highest turnout for the program yet on a monthly basis. They collectively bought 21.4 million kilos of locally produced rice.

The previous record was logged last April, at 838,695 beneficiaries, the DA said.

"This year alone, from January to the end of September, the P20-per-kilo rice program has directly helped over 5.6 million Filipinos ease the pressure on their wallets, while helping local farmers secure a higher price for their palay from the NFA," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement.

The program has sold 135.98 million kilos of rice from January to September, the DA added.

The DA's price monitoring estimated that the retail price of rice in Metro Manila could range from P45 per kilo to P170 per kilo, depending on the type.

The program hoped to make rice more affordable to consumers while giving farmers a market for their harvest, the DA said.

Tiu Laurel has also ordered a policy change that allows vulnerable beneficiaries to claim a monthly 30-kilo allocation in a single transaction, which will be effective in December. This would ease access and free up more space at the National Food Authority, the DA said.

The program will last until June 2028, the DA said.

The P20/kilo rice is a flagship campaign promise of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. — VDV, GMA News