MANILA — Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan said President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. can issue an executive order (EO) to set a floor price for palay (unhusked rice) under the Sagip Saka Act, which mandates government agencies and local government units to buy agricultural products directly from farmers and fisherfolk without public bidding.

“Maybe an EO can actually be put together by the President or we will include it in the law, where a palay floor price, when government is buying palay from our farmers and fisherfolks for its calamity relief funds, for its feeding programs, provincial hospitals, provincial jails, all of these entities buy food,” Pangilinan said.

He explained that such a measure would allow farmers to enter into negotiated contracts with the government, giving them access to credit to mill palay and sell it as rice to public institutions.

“So, the government can already step in and say, ‘Okay, we have a palay floor price. The government, when it can, should be able to do the palay or rice purchases, depending on the capacity of your farmers groups and organizations.’ So, that there is a support in that sense,” he added.

Pangilinan, who chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, urged Cabinet secretaries during the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefing on the proposed 2026 national budget to implement the Sagip Saka Law in their agencies.

He cited Valenzuela City as an example, saying it saved ₱15 per kilo for its rice subsidy programs through negotiated contracts allowed under the law.

“It’s cheaper by ₱15 pesos rather than going through the regular procurement process because the law—Sagip Saka—allows it. Can you imagine if all LGUs in NCR are now going to do negotiated contracts with farmers from Bulacan, Region 3, then you’re going to have a game changer of sorts,” Pangilinan said.