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Alexis Romero - The Philippine Star
May 21, 2025 | 12:00am
Varieties of rice are on display for sale at Kamuning Public Market in Quezon City on March 18, 2025.
STAR / Michael Varcas
MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has revealed that government officials were involved in rice smuggling, something which prevented the sale of the staple at P20 per kilo during the early years of his term.
In a video interview posted on his YouTube channel, Marcos said “spoiled” officials had imported rice, both through legal and illegal means, as the prices of the commodity were controlled through smuggling and hoarding.
“We raided warehouses... they did not care. They just kept on importing. Since the smugglers were also officials of the government, they were earning money. Why would they change it?” the President, who concurrently served as agriculture chief for more than a year, said.
“They kept on importing. They did not care about the production. They did not care about the system. They did not care about the prices of palay and rice and the earnings of the farmers,” he added.
Marcos said his administration had to address smuggling and to fix things at the National Food Authority (NFA) before implementing the subsidized P20-per-kilo rice program, one of his campaign promises in 2022.
“There were laws that had to be amended. There were people who had to be replaced. A different concept was adopted. We were able to achieve all of these just now,” he added.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the investigation into officials believed to have links with smuggling is ongoing.
“Many people were ordered to be investigated. If the President heard something, it has to be verified so cases can be filed,” the Palace press officer told radio dzBB yesterday.
Aside from cracking down on smuggling, Marcos said the government also had to boost production and invest on farm equipment and infrastructure.
“In 2022 (and) 2023, we could not do it (P20-per-kilo rice program) yet. The key there lies on the production. That’s why we constructed irrigation facilities. We built dams. We distributed a lot of machinery,” he said.
