(UPDATE) MALACAÑANG on Thursday hit back at Vice President Sara Duterte after she criticized the government's plan to sell rice for P20 per kilo in the Visayas, telling her and her supporters to "not be termites in society." In a press conference, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro dismissed Duterte's statement that the plan of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to sell rice at P20 per kilo in Visayas was just another attempt to fool Filipinos. On Wednesday, the DA announced the rollout of the P20 per kilo rice in the Visayas following a closed-door meeting in Cebu between Marcos and 12 governors in the region. said while the pilot implementation would be in the Visayas, the government intends to implement the program nationwide and is currently reviewing the logistics processes to make it so. "With all due respect to the vice president, the Department of Agriculture family is deeply hurt by her suggestion that NFA rice to be sold is not for people but for animals," he said in English and Filipino. "We are proud of the quality of Filipino rice." The NFA is mandated by the law to procure rice only from local farmers as a way to support the agriculture sector. Read Full Story
