MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived in the country on Wednesday from the 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit and Related Meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he renewed his call for a regional bloc that would adopt a code of conduct in the South China Sea and non-retaliatory measures against the US’ higher tariff policy, among others.
The chartered Philippine Airlines flight carrying the President, First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos, and the rest of the delegation touched down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City at 3:19 a.m.
During the summit, Marcos also appealed for support from Arab states regarding the Philippines’ bid for a seat at the United Nations Security Council, and called for an end to the war in Gaza.
In supporting the enforcement of non-retaliatory measures in response to the US tariff policy, Marcos said, “First of all, the structure of world trade is completely different now from what it was before. The conclusion also that we arrived at is that we have to depend more on each other, on Asean.”
“If we cannot sell to these markets anymore, then let’s sell to each other’s markets. But we can… It seems that the best, most solid way forward is to make – to be a reliable partner for each other in Asean,” he said in a roundtable discussion following the conclusion of the summit.
During his intervention at the plenary following the formal opening of the summit on Monday, Marcos commended Malaysia’s leadership ”in convening this special Asean Economic Ministers’ Meeting and welcomed the consensus to avoid retaliatory measures.”
He said this “measured and unified approach upholds Asean’s commitment to dialogue, diplomacy, and a rules-based multilateral trading system,” Marcos said a day after the Asean Economic Community Council Meeting.
”Instead of retaliation, we have chosen dialogue and cooperation with a clear commitment among Asean member states to not impose retaliatory measures, emphasizing that open communication is key to a balanced and sustainable relationship,” council chairman Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said.
”This prudent stance has already averted escalation and preserved the foundation for engagement between Asean, not just with the US, but with other major economies as well,” he added.
In a roundtable discussion with reporters at the conclusion of the summit, Marcos assured the government was exerting efforts to ensure that the selling of rice at P20 per kilo would be sustained until the end of his term in 2028.
Marcos accepted the challenge of prolonging the initiative until his last day in office.
“Watch me sustain it,” he said. “And then, we’ll talk in May of 2028, if it happened or not. We found a way. We found a way to do it.”
“We could not do it before. We couldn’t because there was no system yet. The price of rice was different then,” the President said.
Malacañang previously said the program could be sustained up to December of this year “and maybe by the following year.”
The President bared that the government, through the Department of Agriculture, was continuously negotiating with different countries to source the food staple and sell it for cheap in the local market.
“We’re making deals with different countries so that the price is nailed down and not volatile. Whatever happens down the road, at least we were able to do it now. It’s already there. We achieved the P20 price,” he said.
“But at the same time, on the other side, we also made sure there is a budget — the purchase price for farmers is at a good level giving them livelihood. And the difference there, that’s what the government is paying for,” he added.
The DA initially rolled out the “Benteng Bigas Mayroon (BBM) Na” program in Cebu and the DA headquarters in Quezon City last May 1 under the Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) initiative.
Under the program, each household is allowed a maximum of 30 kilos of National Food Authority (NFA) rice per purchase.
At the moment, those qualified to buy rice at P20 per kilo are those in the 4Ps program, senior citizens, PWDs, and solo parents.
The DA said it was considering expanding the sale to low and lower middle income families.
Meanwhile, Marcos brushed off a recent Pulse Asia survey showing his trust rating lower than those of Vice President Sara Duterte and former president Rodrigo Duterte.
The firm’s latest Pulso Ng Bayan poll yielded a 35 percent trust rating for the chief executive while the vice president and her father listed 50 percent and 63 percent, respectively.
Marcos, however, shrugged this off, saying his performance must not be based on the poll alone, saying, “There are many surveys. Let’s not base it on one.”
