The Philippines’ Commission on Elections (Comelec) has suspended the 20-peso 1-kg rice program till after the May 12 elections.
According to a May 1, 2025 statement by George Eric Garcia, head of Comelec, the halt aims to prevent polarization.
By local law mandate, activities that seem related to electioneering ought to stop ten days before the upcoming midterm vote.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has already assented to the prohibition but promised to continue the rollout after the poll.
How Many Beneficiaries?
Selling at over half the retail price of rice in the Philippines, the 20-peso program will benefit about 4 million locals.
Around 800,000 families will eventually gain access to the scheme, which mainly targets the elderly, single parents, and children.
Local authorities of the Visayas region in south-central Philippines have since April 29 been readying supplies for their residents. The Cebu city’s administration had already began stocking some 3,800 bags, each weighing 50 kg.
Every bag is almost equivalent to the total monthly purchase per family of around 40 kg or 10 kg per week.
How Does the Program Work?
The government normally buys domestic unhusked rice at 23 peso ($0.41) a kg and then distributes it at 20 peso ($0.36).
In retail markets, rice averages 46 peso ($0.83) a kg, meaning that governmental beneficiaries save considerably.
The DA settles its trade deficit through a nationwide subsidy where local governments contribute 6.50 peso ($0.12) apiece.
The 5 billion-peso ($89.8 million) subsidy foots the buying expenditure while 500 million pesos ($8.98 million) settle transportation and packaging.
So, politics or not, the 20-peso-per-kg rice program in the PH will ameliorate costs, especially for senior citizens. To learn more, read on in the statistics section below for a comparison with wholesale and retail rates.
Statistics on the 20-Peso Rice Program Versus Market Prices in the Philippines
According to CEIC, regular milled rice in the PH retailed at 44.92 peso ($0.81) a kg in mid-April 2025. This was a little depreciation from the March 2025 close at an average 46.02 peso ($0.83) a kg. It was also cheaper than the 2023-25 retail average of 49.04 peso ($0.88) a kg. Imported special rice on the other hand was retailing at 58.17 peso ($1.04) a kg on April 21-26, 2025, per weekly governmental prices. Hence, the 20-peso-per-kg program that began on May 1, 2025 cuts median retail rates by half.
Are Kadiwa offers cheap?
Another cheap alternative that the PH government has been offering is the “Kadiwa Rice-For-All” program. Its quality rice sells at between 33 and 35 pesos ($0.59-63) a kg. According to the Department of Agriculture (DA), this rice is well-milled with 1 to 19% bran streak. It is therefore at par with wholesale regular milled rice, which sold at 39.99 peso ($0.72) a kg before April 26, 2025.
At how much does the government buy rice from farmers?
In order to support producers even when selling rice cheaply, the National Food Authority (NFA) offers competitive buying rates. In April 2024, the NFA purchased dry unhusked rice (palay) at 23-30 peso ($0.41-53) a kg while in 2025 at 23 peso ($0.41).