The Dutertes’ Rice Crisis: A Daughter Forgets, the Poor Remember

By Louis ‘Barok’ C. Biraogo — April 29, 2025

IN Zamboanga City, 2018 was the year rice turned to gold. For families like the Santoses, scraping by on P300 a day, the staple soared to P70 per kilogram, forcing them to ration meals and send children scavenging instead of studying. A state of calamity was declared—not for floods, but for hunger. Today, Vice President Sara Duterte scoffs at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s P20-per-kilogram rice program, branding it an election gimmick, while conveniently erasing her father’s legacy of P80 rice, weevil-infested imports, and a P88.6 billion price-fixing scandal that robbed Filipinos blind. The hypocrisy is as searing as the hunger it ignores—why slam a subsidy when her family’s rule left the poor starving?

The Hypocrisy of Amnesia

Sara Duterte’s attack on the P20 rice program is a masterclass in selective memory. She sneers that it’s “too late” and insinuates the rice is “fit for animals,” echoing her father’s era when bukbok (weevil)-riddled imports were deemed “safe to eat” by then-Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol (GMA News Online, 2018). Under Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency (2016–2022), rice prices in Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi skyrocketed to P70–P80 per kilogram, with Tawi-Tawi hitting P80 for barely edible grain (Inquirer, 2025). Thousands of sacks of imported rice rotted in ports like Subic and Albay, crawling with pests, yet Sara has never uttered a word about this disgrace.

The Duterte regime’s rice policy was a debacle. A 2018 inflation spike of 6.7%—a nine-year high—crushed affordability, gutting Rodrigo’s populist image among the urban poor (New York Times, 2018). A P88.6 billion “rice price manipulation” scandal, uncovered in 2024, revealed cartels exploiting import permits, inflating prices by P8 per kilogram (Philippine Information Agency, 2024). No one faced jail, and Sara remains mute. Her father’s own admission in 2024—“There is no way for rice prices to dip to P20 per kilo”—concedes defeat while dismissing Marcos’s effort (Philstar, 2024).

Contrast this with Sara’s potshots. She accuses Marcos of “tricking” Filipinos with a Visayas-focused program to sway votes (PhilNews, 2025). Yet, her father’s tenure saw Mindanao—her political base—reeling from shortages, with Zamboanga’s 2018 calamity a grim testament. If Marcos’s subsidy is an election ploy, what was Rodrigo’s mismanagement if not a betrayal of the masa he claimed to serve?

Election Games: The Political Puppet Show

Sara’s critique is timed for maximum political damage. With the May 2025 midterms approaching, the once-united “Uniteam” of Marcos and Duterte has splintered, with Sara backing rival senatorial slates against Marcos’s Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas (Rappler, 2025). Her claim that the P20 rice program is a “scam” to woo Visayas voters—where she alleges Marcos’s slate lags—mirrors the populist playbook her family perfected. X posts from groups like Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas call the program an “electoral gimmick” but also slam the Dutertes’ failures, a contradiction Sara ignores.

Her fixation on Visayas is strategic. She questions why Luzon and Mindanao miss out, crying, “Aren’t the people from Mindanao hungry also?” Yet, Mindanao suffered acutely under her father, with Zamboanga and Basilan declaring calamities over rice shortages (GMA News Online, 2018). Marcos’s Visayas focus is logistical—National Food Authority warehouses there hold 358,000 metric tons of rice, needing distribution to clear space for new harvests (Inquirer, 2025). Sara’s regional jab is less policy critique and more electoral sniping in a vote-rich region.

This is dynastic warfare masquerading as public service. Sara’s refusal to confront her father’s record—bukbok scandals or P88.6 billion in losses—reveals a calculated dodge. As Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong puts it, “Before pointing fingers, it would be better for her to look back at the failures of the administration she proudly represents” (Inquirer, 2025).

Hunger’s Toll: The Poor Pay the Price

The 2018 rice crisis wasn’t just data—it was despair. The 6.7% inflation rate, fueled by rice price surges, gutted low-income families (New York Times, 2018). In Zamboanga, where prices hit P70–P80 per kilogram, families like the Santoses slashed meals, with children skipping school to scavenge. States of calamity in Zamboanga and Basilan highlighted the crisis’s severity, as local governments grappled with supply failures (GMA News Online, 2018). The P88.6 billion price manipulation scheme meant consumers overpaid billions, money that could have fed millions (Manila Bulletin, 2024).

Marcos’s P20 rice program, though flawed, offers a lifeline. Piloted in Visayas with a P3.5–P4.5 billion budget, it caps purchases at 10 kilograms weekly per family, targeting the poorest (Philstar, 2025). Critics like the Federation of Free Farmers warn the price is “artificially low,” projecting a P25 loss per kilogram. Yet, for households spending 20–30% of income on rice, this subsidy could mean an extra meal daily. Cebu vendors see short-term relief but doubt sustainability (Inquirer, 2025). Unlike Duterte’s bukbok-tainted imports, Marcos’s team insists the rice is regular-grade, not substandard.

Power’s Blind Spot: Evading Accountability

Sara Duterte’s silence on her father’s failures is a glaring omission. She has never addressed the bukbok scandal, Piñol’s laughable “safe to eat” claim, or the P88.6 billion price-fixing mess (Philippine News Agency, 2024). Her pivot to slamming Marcos’s program skirts responsibility, undermining her moral authority. Rep. Adiong calls for unity: “The vice president should support every effort that aims to provide relief to the Filipino people” (Inquirer, 2025). Former Senate President Vicente Sotto adds, “Better late than never… Let us give that subsidy to our people so they would not go hungry” (Philstar, 2025).

Marcos’s program isn’t flawless. Its pre-election timing and Visayas-only scope invite scrutiny, and farmers like Rodrigo Alumbro in Leyte fear price drops could slash their earnings (Inquirer, 2025). But Sara’s critique, lacking solutions or self-reflection, fuels division over progress.

Breaking the Cycle: Rice for All, Not Rivalries

Scale Up, Safeguard Quality: Expand the P20 program nationwide, prioritizing hunger hotspots like Mindanao. Independent audits must ensure rice meets health standards, countering fears of subpar grain. Local cooperatives should oversee distribution to block profiteering, as Cebu vendors caution (Inquirer, 2025).
Demand Truth, Past and Present: The P88.6 billion Duterte-era scandal cries for justice—no one has been prosecuted (Manila Bulletin, 2024). Marcos’s import policies, including tariff cuts, need equal scrutiny to root out cartels. A bipartisan commission should probe both regimes’ rice supply chains, with findings public before May 2025.
Lead with Integrity: Sara Duterte must own her father’s failures before critiquing rivals. All leaders—Duterte, Marcos, or otherwise—should sign a “rice pact,” vowing to depoliticize food security and put the poor first.

The Philippines cannot afford a rice war waged by dynasties. When Sara Duterte calls P20 rice a “scam,” she buries the P70–P80 rice her father’s regime peddled, some crawling with weevils. When rice becomes a political cudgel, the poor go hungry. Leaders must deliver solutions, not sanctimony, ensuring every Filipino’s plate holds dignity, not the crumbs of dynastic denial.