By CESAR JOLITO III
The Bacolod City government is pushing forward with the second tranche of the P20 per kilo rice program this August, aiming to bring more relief to households amid continued concerns over high food costs.
Secretary to the Mayor Marty Go confirmed yesterday that they are now processing the next round of rice procurement following the successful launch of the program in June.
Go said the local government initially purchased 5,880 bags of rice in the first tranche worth P7.7 million, inclusive of subsidies.
The second tranche will see the purchase of 3,930 bags at a cost of P5.2 million, funded from the P13 million allocation Bacolod has set aside for the program.
“We still have remaining funds from the initial budget, so we’re moving forward with the second procurement this month,” Go said.
The mayor’s secretary said they are also currently reviewing the program guidelines to determine whether other sectors beyond indigent families can be included as beneficiaries.
“If the guidelines permit, we’re open to allowing more residents, including other vulnerable sectors, to benefit from this affordable rice program,” Go said.
The P20 per kilo rice initiative is part of a national pilot program supported by the Department of Agriculture and Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), fulfilling the major campaign promise of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to bring down rice prices for Filipino consumers.
Bacolod was among the first cities in the Visayas to roll out the scheme.
Under the pricing scheme, the FTI acquires rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) at P33 per kilo and sells it to local government units (LGUs) at a subsidized rate of P26.50 per kilo.
The LGUs then resell the rice to residents for P20 per kilo, with the P13-per-kilo subsidy shared by both FTI and the local government.
Each household is allowed to buy up to 10 kilos of rice per week, with indigent families as the program’s top priority.
Bacolod launched the initial phase at three major markets — Burgos, Central and Libertad — and later extended it to barangay-level outlets./CJ, WDJ