Marcos orders auction of 100,000 metric tons of rice — Palace

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has ordered the release of about 100,000 metric tons of rice to stabilize supply and strengthen food security in the country, Malacañang said Wednesday.

At a briefing, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said the Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to release this week some 1.2 million bags, or approximately 100,000 metric tons of local rice, through an auction.

"Inaasahang aabot sa P25 to P28 per kilo ang floor price ng bigas, depende sa edad nito. Layunin din ng auction na paluwagin ang mga bodega para makapag-imbak pa ng karagdagang supply ng bigas—ibig sabihin lamang nito ay maganda ang ani ng ating mga magsasaka," Castro said.

(The floor price of the rice for auction would range at P25 to P28 per kilo, depending on its age. The aim of this auction is to unload government warehouses for it to have additional capacity to store more rice—which only means that the harvest of our local farmers was bountiful.)

Castro also announced the release of an unspecified volume of rice to expand the Marcos administration's flagship "Benteng Bigas, Mayroon na" program, which allows beneficiaries to purchase rice at P20 per kilo.

Amid the planned releases, the government will continue monitoring rice prices to protect both consumers and farmers from unscrupulous individuals who might try to take advantage of the situation, Castro said.

The DA is also consulting with farmers, millers, and traders to prevent price manipulation and maintain market stability, in anticipation of the coming rice import ban, she said.

Earlier this month, Marcos ordered the suspension of the country's rice imports for 60 days, starting September 1, to protect local farmers from low palay prices during this harvest season. — VDV, GMA Integrated News