The incoming senator wondered if President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. could keep his commitment to reduce rice prices to P20 per kilo.
During the election, one of Marcos Jr.’s claims was to lower the price of rice, which is presently between 36 and 41 pesos.
He explained that he remains confident about Marcos’ commitment and thinks that it will be accomplished.
“First time ko narinig, P20 yung rice. Just like any politician, nasabi ko, posible ba yun? Anong klaseng pangako ‘yon? Diba? But if I am a true Christian and a public servant, if I really believe in science, then hindi pwedeng ganun pag-iisip ko,” he stated in a speech.
“Dapat ang pag-iisip ko maganda ‘yung conculusion. How do we get there? If we don’t get to P20 but we get to P30, hindi ba mas maganda yun kaysa sa P40, P45, at P50, ” Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano remarked.
Furthermore, new DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III stated that it is not now possible to reduce rice prices to P20 per kilo.
The ongoing rise in the price of oil and fertilizer is one of the issues that the future administration may encounter in order to reduce rice prices.
Oil and gas costs are continuing to rise. On June 7, the oil companies raised the prices of domestic oil products by P2.70 per liter for gasoline, P6.55 per liter for diesel, and P2.45 per liter for kerosene.
Estrella, on the other hand, feels that the next president would follow through on his commitment to provide Filipinos with inexpensive rice.
