The government will roll out next week a major expansion of Benteng Bigas, Meron Na!, the flagship food program of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as it sharpens its push to tame food prices while boosting farm incomes, Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said Thursday.
The next phase will kick off in Lingayen, Pangasinan, with the goal of reaching as many as 15 million families, equivalent to roughly 60 million Filipinos, or half the country’s population, by the end of 2026. President Marcos wants the food program to continue until the end of his term in June 2028.
Benteng Bigas, or the P20 rice program, is designed with twin objectives of providing vulnerable sectors such as senior citizens, indigents, farmers, fishers and minimum wage earners access to affordable rice, and free up storage space at National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses so the state grains agency can buy more palay from farmers at better prices.
“These twin goals strike at the heart of our mandate—ensuring fair and stable prices for farmers while making rice affordable for Filipino families,” said Tiu Laurel at a news conference in Malacanang. “By strengthening government procurement, we reduce farmers’ dependence on middlemen and give them a more reliable market.”
Before January ends, the DA will extend the program to Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Mindoro, Palawan, and Bohol, as well as the cities of Zamboanga and Davao—areas that are either major rice producers or have high consumer demand.
Funding for this year’s expansion is estimated at about P14 billion, including roughly P4 billion carried over from last year. This excludes separate allocations for NFA palay procurement worth P9- Billion which underpins the program’s supply.
The NFA currently holds 2.2 million 50-kilo bags of freshly milled rice for the initial rollout, plus another 700,000 bags of older stocks. Total inventories stand at 451,886 metric tons, or about 9.04 million bags—enough to feed the country for nearly 12 days.
Meantime, Tiu Laurel warned of upward pressure on imported rice prices. With a higher 20 percent tariff taking effect January 16, a weak peso, and global prices for 5 percent broken rice holding at USD425 to USD440 per ton, he said the DA may raise the maximum suggested retail price for imported rice to P45 per kilo from the current level of P43.
Rice imports this year are projected to fall to 3.6 million to 3.8 million metric tons, down from 4.8 million in 2024—signaling a policy shift toward tighter import management and stronger support for local producers. Total imports last year is estimated around 3.5 million metric tons as a result of President Marcos’ imposition of a four-month import ban starting September to shore up local prices of palay, which has been depressed by over importation.
