The Department of Agriculture explained on Wednesday the purpose of P50 million in their confidential funds for next year during the House Committee on Appropriations for the department’s 2024 budget proposal.

According to Milky Rigonan’s report on DZRH’s Damdaming Bayan, Assistant Secretary for Inspectorate and Enforcement James Layug said that the confidential funds will be used in the agency’s anti-agricultural smuggling efforts in collaboration with other government agencies.

Layug elaborated that this is part of their mandate as a member of the National Intelligence Coordinating Board, which addresses the problem of smuggling.

He explained that the anti-agricultural smuggling efforts are for achieving food security, which is part of national security.

In the said hearing, the DA also admitted that in the next two years, it will be difficult to achieve P20 per kilo for rice.

According to Agriculture Undersecretary Mercedita Sombillia, the DA's plan includes lowering the price per kilo of rice, which was a "campaign promise" by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., but she couldn’t provide exact information about the implementation.

Sombillia explained that the buffer stock of rice is depleted this month until September, so imported rice will arrive on September 15.