Vice Pres. Sara Duterte Speaks Anew on P20 per Kilo Rice Campaign Promise of Pres. Bongbong Marcos
SARA DUTERTE – The Vice President confirmed that the P20 per kilo rice is doable but she refused to share the ways as she doesn’t want to help Pres. Bongbong Marcos achieve his campaign promise.
Countless Filipinos reacted when the Department of Agriculture announced that P20 per kilo rice will be sold in Visayas. However, the said step towards the realization of Marcos Jr.’s campaign promise did not only spark hope among some Filipinos but also gathered criticisms from others.
On the part of Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, she claimed that the government is allegedly fooling the Filipinos again through the P20 per kilo rice in Visayas. The Vice President also raised questions on why it is only available in the region despite its nationwide need.
Vice Pres. Duterte claimed that it may allegedly be election-related. She also stressed that the fulfillment of the campaign promise is also a bit late. Furthermore, she emphasized that the rice that will be sold for P20 per kilo must be fit for human consumption.
The DA previously reacted to Duterte’s claims saying they were “deeply hurt” by her remarks. According to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., the department is committed to delivering quality rice to the Filipino people. He also claimed that they cook and eat NFA rice in the department every day.
The Department of Agriculture officials also ate NFA rice in a media conference over the P20 per kilo rice as they vouch for its quality. According to the department, the NFA rice that will be sold at P20 per kilo is originally priced at P33 per kilo and they have allotted a P5 billion budget for it.
However, currently, the sale of the P20 per kilo rice is temporarily suspended as per the advice of the Commission on Elections (Comelec). It is set to resume on May 13 and several Luzon areas are also set to have access to it.
Following the halting of the selling of the affordable NFA rice, Vice Pres. Sara Duterte claimed that the government could not deliver it so they stopped the selling of the P20 per kilo rice. Recently, based on a report on UNTV, the Vice President spoke anew about the rice.
According to Vice Pres. Sara Duterte, she knows that the P20 per kilo rice is doable as she has already talked to some people in 2022. However, based on the report, the Vice President said that she won’t share about it because she does not want to help Pres. Bongbong Marcos.
“Impossible talaga ang bente pesos na bigas pero pwede siya hindi ko lang i-share sa inyo kasi ayokong tulungan si BBM,” the Vice President said.
Amid their feud, Vice Pres. Duterte also called on the Filipinos not to vote for the candidates of Pres. Bongbong Marcos in the May 2025 Elections. The Vice President campaigns for presidential sister Senator Imee Marcos, Las Piñas Representative Camille Villar, and the PDP-Laban bets in the senatorial race.