Bea Allyson Alimangohan

The Department of Agriculture (DA) ‘self-suspended’ the selling of P20/kg rice program in Cebu City following the Commission on Election ’s (COMELEC) provisions to prohibit all forms of government assistance or “ayuda” during the election period on May 2.

Photo Courtesy of PEP.ph.

“[May 2] hanggang May 12 ‘di pwedeng magbenta,” DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in an interview that they would comply with the poll body’s advisory.

According to COMELEC Chairperson George Erwin Garcia, they recommended the DA to ‘self-suspend’ the program for 10 days before the 2025 midterm elections to avoid any raising suspicions of political or campaign misuse.

Garcia warned that the program should cease during the provided period and clarified the local governments have already partly subsidized its price with P6.50 per kilo. 

“Hindi po para ang Comelec maging hadlang sa tulong sa ating mga kababayan. Kaya lang ang sabi ng batas, hindi dapat nagagamit ang state resources para sa pamumulitika ng iba o para i-promote ang kandidatura ng iba,” Garcia emphasized.

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia argued that the cheaper rice is not considered as a form of aid because it was not given for free, confirming that this will still be available in the market and implemented to only fulfill the president’s P20/kg rice program.

“First of all, it should be done in a public place. Second, it is sold. It’s not given. Giving rice as a
form of assistance is different. What we’re doing is people are going to buy rice at P20. Third, it
should not be done in the presence of political candidates. And fourth, the local government
should get an exemption,” the governor justified.

Garcia also asked for clarifications directly from the chairperson and told the public the cheaper rice will still be available in Cebu as Sugbo Merkadong Barato (SMB) program has been exempted from restrictions on public fund spending according to COMELEC.

Chairperson Garcia reminded the local governments that continuing the distribution of government assistance will be considered an election offense as per Omnibus Election Code.

Laurel also assured on the launching day of the program that they would follow the COMELEC’s decision on whether the program will be exempted or not for the “ayuda” ban which transpired the next day.

“May sinabi si Comelec chair sa position niya. Of course, we have different opinions. To be on the safe side syempre ayaw ko din makasuhan,” Laurel added.

The department together with the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) recently announced the pilot implementation of P20/kg rice will start in the Visayas region that was set to run until December following the campaign promise of the president.