Govt banks on Kadiwa to make food affordable
PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the government will tap its Kadiwa ng Pangulo outlets to “indirectly control” prices and keep basic commodities affordable.
In an interview with reporters in Bulacan last Wednesday, Marcos said the Kadiwa stores are “a reliable alternative” to private sector retailers for consumers.
“We can dictate the price [of products] in the Kadiwa. We don’t have to follow market prices. That is what we have done when there was a shortage in onions, sugar and rice,” Marcos said in Filipino. “If there is a shortage or a drought, we can make sure the price of goods will remain low.”
The Kadiwa program is a joint initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA), which enables agriculture suppliers to directly sell their products to consumers.
Marcos also said the government is targeting to make Kadiwa outlets sustainable by boosting local agricultural production.
“We have to increase production so the Kadiwa [outlets] would continue to increase. If there is plenty of supply, the prices [of agricultural commodities] will go down.”
Last Wednesday, Marcos led the launch of the latest Kadiwa ng Pangulo in San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.
Currently, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said sales of Kadiwa outlets nationwide have reached P415 million. PCO also claimed that the program has benefited more than 1 million families and 26,000 farmers and fishermen.
Last month, the president said he is targeting to put up more Kadiwa centers across the country, specifically in local government units (LGU).
“So, this Kadiwa program will just continue because now we are considering to evolve it. These won’t be so-called pop-up centers, but we will have a permanent Kadiwa center in various LGUS. We are studying the potential sites.”
The president made these remarks after the launch of “Kadiwa ng Pangulo para sa Manggagawang Pilipino” in the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) labor center in Quezon City.
“By eliminating layers and intermediaries, including unscrupulous smugglers, traders, and cartels, who must be prosecuted, the Kadiwa para sa Manggagawa empowers farmers and micro, small, and medium enterprises to sell their affordable high-quality produce directly to ordinary Filipino consumers especially for Filipino workers,” TUCP said.