President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said the government is close to achieving the goal of lowering the price of rice to Php 20 per kilo.
In his speech during the nationwide launch of “Kadiwa ng Pasko” in Mandaluyong City, Marcos said there is a lot of work still needed to do to reach that price.
“Palapit na tayo dun sa aming pangarap na mag-Php 20 [per kilo of rice] pero dahan-dahan lang. Aabutin din natin yan,” he said.
Marcos said Kadiwa stores will be offering Php 25 per kilo of rice for now.
“Paano naging mas mura? Nagiging mura dahil ang pamahalaan, unang una [ka]pag bibili ng bigas, kinukuha sa NFA [National Food Authority], kinukuha sa buffer stock… hindi kumikita ang NFA. Kung ano ‘yung pinambili nila ganoon din ang presyo. Kaya’t ‘yung nakita ninyo ‘yung bigas Php 25 [per kilo],” he said.
The President said the government has no grip on the soaring prices of commodities as it is driven by global inflation. However, he said they wanted to ease consumers’ burden through Kadiwa.
“Kaya nga kami naman bilang inyong pamahalaan, kung wala tayong magagawa sa presyuhan, tumulong nalang tayo doon sa kakayahan sa pagbili,” Marcos added.
The President also explained that government directly buys from suppliers, hence prices of commodities are affordable in Kadiwa stores.
“Kaya’t lahat ‘yung… lahat ng transport cost, lahat ng mga ganyang klase na kailangan bayaran ang gobyerno na ang gumagalaw,” he added.
Marcos said they aim to install more Kadiwa stalls nationwide.
The Kadiwa project is an initiative of the agriculture department.
At least 14 Kadiwa stores was launched across the country – 11 in Metro Manila, one in Tacloban City, one in Davao de Oro, and one in Koronadal City, South Cotabato.
