Marcos: Gov’t committed to fulfill campaign promise
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government is doing everything it can to make good his campaign promise to cut the price of rice to P20 a kilo.
At the nationwide launch of his administration’s Kadiwa ng Pangula program in San Fernando, Pampanga, Mr. Marcos acknowledged they have yet to achieve his dream of P20-a-kilo rice.
“As to our dream of achieving rice prices of P20 per kilo, we’re not there yet, but we are doing everything we can,” the President said.
The Palace said all 81 provinces in the Philippines joined the simultaneous launch as they opened their own Kadiwa centers—government stores where people can buy agricultural produce at a lower cost by providing a venue for farmers to sell their produce directly to consumers.
“Kadiwa is good because we have a system where consumers can purchase cheaper products,” the President said.
The President signed a memorandum of agreement that formalizes the partnership of several executive agencies—led by the Department of Agriculture (DA) which he heads—to collaborate and support the local government units in establishing Kadiwa stalls in their respective localities.
Other agencies that are part of the agreement are the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), and the Philippine Communications Office (PCO).
Earlier, President Marcos said that there are more than 500 Kadiwa stalls across the country catering to the basic needs of consumers at a cheaper price.
The President said there’s a need to boost production to sustain the Kadiwa program and maintain affordable prices of basic commodities that favor consumers.
To realize this goal, Marcos said the DA, with the help of other agencies, is working to boost grain and fish production, as well as finding solutions to the diseases that plague the livestock and poultry industries.
In the fishery sector, he said the government is putting up cold storage facilities in coastal areas to minimize or prevent spoilage, which he said could reach up to 20 to 30 percent.
The Kadiwa program is a farm-to-consumer market chain that eliminates intermediaries, allowing local producers to generate higher income by selling their produce directly to consumers.
The President, meanwhile, led the distribution of government assistance to students, micro- and small entrepreneurs and local farmers associations.
The assistance distributed included:
* Livelihood grants from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), extending P1 million for the department’s Tulong Pangkabuhayan for the municipality of San Simon and P1.2 million for the municipality of Minalin;
* Financial assistance of P1.38 million from DOLE to 301 disadvantaged or displaced workers; and P611,000 in stipends released to 140 interns under the Government Internship Program;
* Eleven Negosyo sa Kariton, or Nego-Kart, worth P30,000 each were also distributed in addition to the seven Kabuhayan starter kits worth P30,000 each.
* From the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), P68,000 in training support to 25 shielded metal arch welding NC1 scholars.
* A training support fund amounting to P91,350 intended for 18 organic agriculture production NC2 scholars;
* Financial grants from the DA under the Enhanced Kadiwa Financial Grant Assistance Program, benefitting various associations in Pampanga;
* Financial support worth P134.2 million for the Rice Sufficiency Program to the province of Pamapgna;
* Livelihood assistance worth P190,400 to 16 beneficiaries of the DTI;
* Loans worth P6.35 million extended by the Small Business Corp. to seven entrepreneurs; and
* Financial assistance from the DSWD worth P1.5 million under its Assistance to Individuals under Crisis Situations (AICS) Program.
Marcos also visited a job fair organized by DOLE in partnership with the provincial government of Pampanga, the Pampanga Provincial Employment Service Office (PESO) and the Pampanga PESO Managers Federation. About 20 local employers participated in the Job Fair, offering around 3,000 local jobs.