President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said the government has been making headway towards its goal of reducing the price of rice to P20 per kilo.

In his speech during the nationwide launch of the "Kadiwa ng Pasko Project" in Mandaluyong City, Marcos touted that Filipinos already have the option to purchase rice as cheap as P25 per kilo.

"'Pag bibili ng bigas kinukuha sa NFA, kinukuha sa buffer stock… hindi kumikita ang NFA. Kung ano 'yung pinambili nila ganoon din ang presyo kaya't 'yung nakita ninyo 'yung bigas P25 per kilo (The NFA does not profit from selling the rice. Currently it's down to P25 per kilo)" he said.

He added: "Palapit na tayo dun sa aming pangarap na mag-P20 (per kilo of rice) pero dahan-dahan. Aabutin din natin yan (We are nearing our dream of making rice available at P20 per kilo)."

The President led the nationwide launching of the project, which aims to provide a market to local farmers, fishermen, and small business owners as well as to free them from the control of unscrupulous traders and middlemen.

As the current Agriculture Secretary, Marcos reiterated his commitment to implementing measures that would alleviate the plight of the vulnerable sectors, such as reviving the Kadiwa project.

"Ito namang Kadiwa ay nakakamura ito dahil ang pamahalaan ay bumibili diretso sa supplier kaya't lahat 'yung… Lahat ng transport cost, lahat ng mga ganyang klase na kailangang bayaran ang gobyerno na ang gumagalaw (Kadiwa prices are cheap because we are buying direct from the supplier. There is no middleman)," Marcos said.

He added: "Kaya't nakikita natin kahit papaano mayroon tayong savings. Kaya't sabi ko ibalik natin. Mayroon na dating Kadiwa sa mga LGU pero kung kani-kanila lang. At ang nakita naman namin maganda pa rin ang epekto para makatulong sa tao (That is why we have savings. The effect is good because we are helping the consumers)."

Marcos vowed that more Kadiwa hubs will be launched around the country just in time for Christmas.

"Labing-apat ito na iba't ibang Kadiwa ng Pasko na binubuksan namin. Si First Lady napunta sa Parañaque, si Congressman Sandro nasa Quezon City, 'yung isang anak ko si Simon ay nasa San Juan.
Kaya't at lahat po… Patuloy po ito. Pararamihin po natin ito hangga't may coverage na tayo na national (There are already 14 Kadiwa hubs that we have opened. The First Lady went to Paranaque, Congressman Sandro in Quezon City and my other son Simon is in San Juan. This will be a continuing effort)," he added.

The project, he said, was conceptualized to address inflation by providing people with affordable goods, especially in the upcoming holiday season.

Some 14 sites were opened simultaneously across the country on Wednesday, including 11 in the National Capital Region, one in Tacloban City, one in Davao de Oro, and one in Koronadal City, South Cotabato.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte revived the program but it did not have a statewide reach because the Covid-19 outbreak halted government initiatives.

Bringing down the price of rice to P20 per kilo was one of the campaign promises of Marcos during the 2022 presidential campaign.

Marcos is looking at issuing an executive order directing the Department of Agriculture and the National Food Authority to procure rice harvests from local farmers at higher and more competitive prices.

Believing this would also be one way of preventing rice cartels from controlling the supply and demand of the product in the market, he said there is a need to widen the scope of the Kadiwa stores to protect the Filipino people from rising prices of goods brought by external factors.

He is also eyeing the amendment of the Rice Tariffication Law, making it more local farmer-friendly to stop the country's too much dependence on rice importations.

With Tiziana Celine Piatos
@tribunephl_tiz