Presidential aspirant Bongbong Marcos (File photo)
MANILA – To ensure that Filipinos will not suffer again from hunger as they did when the pandemic first hit the country two years ago, presidential bet Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is pushing for the permanent establishment of "Kadiwa" rolling stores in every barangay throughout the country.
Marcos said there should be Kadiwa stores in every barangay since it is effective in helping consumers buy basic necessities like food products at lower prices compared to those being sold in regular markets and stores.
"Maganda na bumalik ito dahil effective ito at maraming natutulungan (It is good to bring it back because it helped a lot of people)," the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas standard-bearer said.
The Department of Agriculture revived last year the Kadiwa program which was an original brainchild of former First Lady Imelda Marcos, following a spike in prices of basic food products due to lockdowns implemented to curb the spread of Covid19.
Marcos has been recommending that the government support local farmers and buy goods from them as they can sell the products at lower prices.
"The Kadiwa system enabled the public to buy goods at cheaper rates and the farmers to sell their crops without having to worry about transportation costs," he said.
"’Yung produkto na binili ng gobyerno, ‘yung hawak nilang supply ay pwedeng ipagbili ng mura. Gumawa sila ng rolling-store para pumunta kung saan may customer (The products bought by the government can be sold in lower price. They should build rolling store which can go to the customers),” Marcos said.
Marcos thanked the incumbent Duterte government for returning the program that started during the administration of his father, former President Ferdinand E. Marcos.
However, he said there is still room for improvement in the program's implementation, including the operation in the Food Terminal Inc., to ensure that enough supply of local products will consistently reach the citizens.
He explained that the government can help save the agriculture sector already suffering even before the pandemic crisis through this program.
He added that assisting the agriculture sector will result in job generation, increased production, and food supply security initiatives of the government.
Marcos also encouraged Filipinos to support local farmers and their products, as it is most needed now that the country is slowly recovering from the pandemic. (PR)
