Romualdez: Gov’t can shift from cash aid to rice subsidies (2025)

MANILA, Philippines — The government can transition from providing direct cash “ayuda” to allocating its funds for aid to rice subsidies so that people can buy grains at P20 per kilogram, House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said on Friday.

In a statement, Romualdez said that it seems possible now for the government to fulfill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s campaign promise of bringing rice prices down to P20 per kilogram, as the Department of Agriculture (DA) started such a program in Visayas.

With this initiative, the Speaker said the government can be assured that funds allocated to poverty alleviation really translates into food and anti-hunger measures.

“Providing affordable rice directly addresses hunger and ensures that assistance reaches the dining tables of Filipino families. This approach guarantees that government support translates into actual food security for our citizens,” Romualdez said.

“Instead of giving out cash that may not go directly to food, this system ensures the ayuda reaches the dinner table,” Romualdez said. “Mas mainam kung bigas ang mismong naipapamigay—nakakabusog, nakakatulong, at tiyak ang patutunguhan.”

(Instead of giving out cash that may not go directly to food, this system ensures the ayuda reaches the dinner table. It would be better if rice would be distributed because it will feed families, it will help them.)

While conditional cash transfer and social amelioration programs were important safety nets for families below or within the poverty line, one major criticism of these “ayuda” is the huge uncertainty that cash grants are actually used to purchase basic and necessary needs.

It has been a usual scene for politicians overseeing aid distributions to remind beneficiaries that these financial assistance should be spent on food, and not on gambling platforms like online cockfighting or e-sabong — hence the Tagalog phrase “ang ayuda hindi para sa tupada” which literally translates to “aid should not be for illegal cockfighting.”

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, 10 individuals from Palayan City, Nueva Ecija were arrested for gambling hours after the city government distributed cash assistance to families. A Luzon-wide lockdown was in place during that time.

READ: 10 nabbed for gambling after receiving cash assistance from Ecija town gov’t

Last Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced the availability of P20 per kilogram rice in the Visayas, adding that this development came after Marcos held a closed-door meeting with governors from the Western Visayas, Central Visayas, and Eastern Visayas.

READ: DA will start selling rice at P20 per kilo – Tiu Laurel

According to Laurel, the program will run until December but it may be extended until February 2026.

Romualdez noted that the provincial government of Camiguin has also successfully implemented a similar measure, where local government units (LGUs), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and local retailers partnered to make rice accessible — sold at half of usual market prices.

Under the DA program, the department in partnership with the Food Terminal Inc. and participating LGUs will shoulder the price difference between the market rate and the subsidized P20 per kilogram rice.

In Camiguin, the cost of the rice was brought down through LGUs coordinating with DSWD and local retailers.

This initiative from Camiguin Governor Xavier Jesus Romualdo and Rep. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo, Romualdez said, has already helped hundreds of families buy affordable rice.

“The Camiguin model demonstrates the effectiveness of coordinated efforts among national agencies, LGUs, and private sector partners in delivering tangible benefits to the people. It’s a blueprint worth replicating nationwide,” he said.

“If it works in Camiguin, it can work across the country. This is a clear example of how the national government, LGUs, and private retailers can come together to deliver direct, practical relief to Filipino families,” he added.

Romualdez said the House is prepared to push for additional funding in the 2026 national budget to institutionalize this rice subsidy system.

“Ang panawagan ko sa ating mga LGU: pag-aralan ninyo ang modelong ito. Kami sa Kongreso ay handang tumulong sa pagbuo ng pondo at patakaran para mailunsad ito sa inyong mga komunidad,” he said.

(My call to our LGUs is to study this model. We in Congress are ready to help in creating a fund and regulation to launch versions of this in your communities.)

“This is not just a subsidy—it’s a signal that we are serious about food on every Filipino’s table,” Romualdez said. “Sa tulong ng mga LGU, DSWD, at ating mga local store owners, kayang-kaya nating gawing realidad ang P20 kada kilong bigas.”

(With the help of LGUs, DSWD, and our local store owners, we can make P20 per kilogram rice a reality.)