Cebu province to sell rice at ₱25 per kilo

Cebu (CNN Philippines, October 9) — Residents of Cebu may soon buy rice at ₱25 per kilo at Tindahan sa Kapitolyo branches across the province.

The Cebu provincial government will initially allocate at least ₱100 million for the purchase of 10,000 sacks of rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) for marginalized families, according to Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia

QR code cards that will contain the amount of rice that can be purchased will be distributed to families included in a list certified by the municipal or city social welfare office.

Purchases will be limited to five kilos per week per family until more rice can be provided by the National Food Authority.

The new program was approved and endorsed by the recent Provincial Development Council meeting attended by mayors of component towns and cities of Cebu.

The LGUs will identify the location of the Tindahan sa Kapitolyo pop-up market which will be accessible to residents daily.

«The pop-up markets for NFA rice is targeted to be opened by this week,» said Garcia

The initial 10,000 sacks of NFA rice will be distributed to the 50 local government units of the province based on their population.

The governor added this project will help ease the hardships faced by the province's residents. She said less expensive rice would allow them to stretch their budget.

Governor Garcia said the province will also purchase rice from traders and sell these at the pop-up stores at ₱33 per kilo. She is also planning to allocate ₱100 million for this.

Garcia said the Capitol will be losing 10% or ₱10 million of the ₱100 million initial budget for the program. This will be deemed as a form of financial assistance to its residents but not in the form of «ayuda.»

She said this is the best solution to combat the effect of rising prices of commodities.

She did not say when the commercial varieties will be sold in the pop-up stores.