Manila is giving cash aid to small bakeries so staple breads like pandesal stay affordable as fuel costs push food prices higher.
Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso announced that each bakery will get P25,000 in exchange for keeping bread prices steady for 30 days.
He stressed that bread is a symbol of Filipino breakfast, eaten by both rich and poor alike.
Inside Manila City Hall, bakers gathered for what many called a rare show of direct support from local government.
The subsidy covers pandesal, pandilimon, monay, and Spanish bread—daily essentials on breakfast tables in the city.
Domagoso showed bakers that producing a sack of flour-based goods now costs about P2,165, with nearly 70 percent tied to flour and yeast.
He said the aid is meant to cushion bakeries against global oil price shocks without forcing them to shut down.
The mayor admitted the program is only a temporary fix but insisted it targets small, community bakeries rather than big chains. For bakers, the gesture carried weight beyond money, signaling recognition of their role in daily life.
Asosasyon ng Panaderong Pilipino President Chito Chavez said in over 30 years, it was the first time a Manila mayor had given such direct support. (Diann Calucin)
