The national government will extend its subsidized rice program to Calapan City in Oriental Mindoro province on Friday, May 16, 2025, offering rice at P20 per kilogram to low-income residents.

The program will launch at 6 a.m. at the City Public Market with Agriculture Undersecretary Roger Navarro attending, according to the Philippine Information Agency.

Eligible buyers can purchase up to 10 kilograms of subsidized rice, which sells for more than 50 pesos per kilogram at regular market prices.

The program, part of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 2022 campaign pledge, has already been implemented in Metro Manila, Cebu and parts of the Visayas region since May 2025.

The government has allocated between 10 billion and 12 billion pesos for the program’s initial phase, with plans to continue through December 2025.

Critics have questioned the timing of the program’s expansion ahead of last May 12 midterm elections, calling it politically motivated.

File photo by Department of Agriculture