Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. led the launch of “Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!”, the flagship food initiative of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., marking another major push in the nationwide rollout aimed at giving 15 million Filipino households access to affordable rice.
Fully funded by the Department of Agriculture, the program delivers good-quality rice at P20 per kilo to families in Dapitan, Dipolog, and 25 municipalities across Zamboanga del Norte.
The program delivers good-quality rice at P20 per kilo to families in Dapitan, Dipolog, and 25 municipalities across Zamboanga del Norte.
Priority beneficiaries include indigent 4Ps households, senior citizens, PWDs, solo parents, farmers, fisherfolk, minimum wage earners, and transport workers.
The initiative also loops in local producers, as the National Food Authority buys palay directly from farmers, mills them, and supplies the subsidized rice to KADIWA ng Pangulo outlets.
The launch featured a ceremonial signing of Memoranda of Agreement between the DA and partner LGUs, with Tiu Laurel joined by Governor Darel Dexter Uy, Vice Governor Julius Napigquit, Dipolog City Mayor Roberto Uy, and OIC-Regional Executive Director Vener Dilig.
At the center of the operational rollout is the P20 Benteng Bigas Masterlist Registry System, a digital platform that verifies eligible households and enforces a 10-kilogram monthly allocation.
The system is designed to uphold transparency and efficiency as the program scales to its full 15-million-household target and continues through the end of Marcos’ term in June 2028.
“Ito ay isang digital platform para mabilis matukoy ang mga kwalipikadong benepisyaryo.”
“Ito ay isang digital platform para mabilis matukoy ang mga kwalipikadong benepisyaryo,” Tiu Laurel said.
The agriculture chief added that the goal of the Marcos administration is to provide assistance to millions of financially-challenged Filipino family with “abot-kaya, dekalidad at ligtas na bigas”.
The agriculture head noted that the initiative is now active in more than 424 sites nationwide, a scale that is already drawing close attention from traders and the broader supply chain.
