Cebu City rolls out grocery caravans, to sell ₱20 rice in uplands
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City has begun rolling out caravans selling grocery items in mountain barangays, with expansion of the program to more remote areas underway.
The city also aims to integrate the ₱20-per-kilo rice program to help reduce food and transportation costs for residents.
In partnership with the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and grocery operators, Mayor Nestor Archival assured the public that supply levels will remain stable in the coming months.
READ: Cebu City rolls out ₱20 rice sale for priority groups starting March 30
Grocery caravans in operation
The grocery initiative delivers essential goods to mountain barangays, reducing the need for residents to spend unnecessarily for travel to buy supplies at the city proper.
According to Archival, grocery operators have committed to deploying mobile setups in designated areas across both the north and south districts of the city.
The initial rollout last March 28 delivered goods to barangays in the Agsungot area in the north and Babag in the south.
READ: Inspections show Cebu rice prices steady, no shortage in supply
Although the mayor clarified that the caravan is still in its testing phase, some residents from upland areas have expressed concerns about its limited coverage, describing it as “kuwangan pa (not enough).”
In response, the city government presently maps and identifies more barangays for caravan stops when the program resumes after Holy Week.
To better serve communities and reduce the need for residents to travel to central markets, the city has also requested for the inclusion of more items in the grocery caravans.
Sufficient stocks, no hoarding
Archival emphasized that there is no shortage of goods, with CCCI and grocery operators assuring that supplies will remain sufficient from March to June this year.
“Naay stock ang tanan grocery operators. Ayaw pag-hoarding,” Archival said.
He also cautioned against panic buying.
“Kay og mag panic buying gani, karong adlawa, paliton niya ang supposed to be pang usa ka semana, unya iyang i-double, so naay pamilya nga dili makapalit ug mag lisod ug palit,” he said.
(If they buy today goods meant for one week’s consumption, other families will not be able to buy supplies for themselves or face difficulty doing so.)
The city also coordinates with the shipping and logistics sectors to maintain supply stability and prevent price increases.
Meanwhile, businesses have agreed to keep prices relatively aligned to avoid sudden spikes.
“Naa siguroy gamay nga difference, pero kining tanan operators sa groceries, naa silay stock. Mao nay gipasalig nila,” he added.
(There will be small differences, perhaps, but grocery operators all have stocks. They assured us of this.)
₱20 rice eyed for caravan rollout
In addition to common grocery items, the city plans to implement the same caravan system for the ₱20-per-kilo rice program to make subsidized rice more accessible, especially in mountain barangays.
The government coordinates the initiative with the Food Terminal Incorporated (FTI), which supplies the rice for the program.
Initially, they limited the distribution points to central locations such as Plaza Sugbo and Sawang Calero, with about 1,000 available sacks of 10 kilograms of rice.
However, as residents raised concerns about transportation costs to these sites, the city has moved toward a mobile distribution setup.
Archival said he plans to propose an arrangement where the city government will provide logistics and manpower support for repacking the rice into 5-kilogram packs, while FTI will handle tracking and sales.
“Ang atong responsibilidad is manpower for kita mo-repack sa plastics, unya kita mo-tabang, unya ang FTI sila maoy mo tan-aw kinsa, nya record nila, and then igo ra tang motabang pagbaligya. Ang mokuha sa kwarta ang FTI,” he said.
(We are responsible for supplying manpower for repacking rice. FTI will keep track of the beneficiaries. We will just help sell. FTI will take the money.)
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