Photo courtesy of the Office of the Executive Secretary.
The Marcos administration’s rice assistance program has benefited about 7 million families nationwide, with Malacañang saying the initiative is aimed at ensuring vulnerable Filipinos have access to food.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto announced the milestone after leading the distribution of free rice to 55,000 families in Oriental Mindoro under the Bawat Bayan Makikinabang program.
Recto said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had directed government agencies to ensure that assistance reached communities in need, with food security remaining a priority of the administration.
The rice distribution is funded through the Local Government Support Fund, which also finances scholarship grants, livelihood assistance and other social welfare programs implemented by local government units.
The 2026 national budget allotted a record Php 57.872 billion for the fund, including Php 37.492 billion for the Financial Assistance to Local Government Units. Half of that amount was earmarked for the nationwide rice distribution program.
Under the initiative, qualified families are set to receive 10 kilograms of rice every month for six months, with local governments overseeing the identification of beneficiaries through their population databases.
Recto said the government could further increase funding for the Local Government Support Fund over the next two years if the program continued to deliver positive results.
Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor said the province sourced the rice directly from local farmers to support the agriculture sector while ensuring the assistance reached communities across all municipalities and barangays.