At least P14B in 2026 budget for P20/kilo of rice program — DA's Tiu Laurel

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Thursday that at least P14 billion has been allotted for the implementation of the ''Benteng Bigas Meron Na!'' program for fiscal year 2026.

''Last year, ang ginagamit naming pera ... for the P20 rice was only P5 billion, pero ang nagastos namin doon is P700 million lang, because of hindi ganoon kadaling i-implement nga,'' Tiu Laurel said at a briefing.

(Last year, we had a budget of P5 billion for this program but we only spent P700 million because it's not that easy to implement.)

''We took six months to lay the groundwork. This year, nadagdagan kami ng P10 billion, so more or less ang operating budget namin for this year, cash on hand of we might say so, will be P14 billion plus for this program,'' he added.

(We took six months to lay the groundwork, this year, we have an additional P10 billion, so more or less our operating budget for this year, or the cash on hand, will be P14 billion plus for this program.) 

Tiu Laurel vowed that the budget would be spent wisely and ''it will definitely benefit a lot of Filipinos.''

Meanwhile, he also mentioned that the P20 per kilo of rice program would be launched in Pangasinan on January 13.

''So, we intend to cater to—as I mentioned kanina, 15 million families or 60 million Filipinos dapat makumpleto namin iyon by the end of this year. That will actually—of course, may limit naman iyon na 10 kilos per household per month lang for the general public,'' he said. 

(We intend to cater to 15 million families or 60 million Filipinos and we need to complete this by the end of the year. There's a limit of 10 kilos per household per month for the general public.)

''That will help ease iyong inflation sa bigas and will help control iyong presyo ng bigas dahil mayroong portion na mabibili ng ating mga mamimili na mas mura,'' he added.

(That will help ease the inflation on rice and will control its prices since the public can purchase cheaper rice.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News