Public school teachers and employees of the Department of Education (DepEd) can now access rice at P20 per kilo.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is bringing KADIWA ng Pangulo Rice-For-All (RFA) and P20 Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) programs to schools and offices of DepEd.
“Lubos ang ating pasasalamat kay Pangulong Bongbong at kay Sec. Kiko dahil ang ganitong mga inisyatiba ay konkretong tulong sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino.”
“Lubos ang ating pasasalamat kay Pangulong Bongbong at kay Sec. Kiko (Tiu Laurel) dahil ang ganitong mga inisyatiba ay konkretong tulong sa bawat pamilyang Pilipino. Full support ang DepEd upang masigurong may puwang ang Kadiwa Centers sa ating mga paaralan—para sa kapakanan ng ating mga guro, magulang, at mag-aaral,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara said.
Following the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to expand food security and social protection, Kadiwa Centers will be placed in DepEd facilities so teachers, non-teaching personnel, and other qualified beneficiaries can buy the rice and other agricultural products directly from local farmers and fisherfolk.
“We were just discussing this previously, but now it has been formalized. Soon, Kadiwa stores will be in our schools,” Angara recalled.
Based on the DA rules for the Rice-for-All Program, the following are the qualified beneficiaries of the P20 Rice Project: senior citizens, persons with disabilities, solo parents, 4Ps beneficiaries, farmers, farmworkers, and fisherfolk.
According to the DA, other sectors can also be included in the list like public school teaching and non-teaching personnel of DepEd, provided there is an MOU formally recognizing the group as beneficiaries.
“These areas of cheaper rice will be more accessible, especially with the help of DepEd and our school systems, ensuring even remote and far-flung areas are served starting January 2026.”
“These areas of cheaper rice will be more accessible, especially with the help of DepEd and our school systems, ensuring even remote and far-flung areas are served starting January 2026,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel explained.
It will be the responsibility of DepEd to validate the beneficiaries and to arrange the monthly selling schedules, while the DA will be the one to ensure the continuous supply of farm produce from accredited cooperatives.
The two agencies will jointly conduct monitoring, resolve complaints and improve the selling operation.
The program supplements the other initiatives of DepEd on nutrition, like the School- Based Feeding Program and Gulayan sa Paaralan.
It is also part of the directive of the President in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) to expand food security and support the objective of the government to reduce poverty, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal No. 2 or Zero Hunger.
