Farmer and fisherfolk representative Wilbert Lee has urged colleagues in the House to shake a leg in support of a bill that makes Kadiwa food stores permanent.

Lee’s call for support to pass House Bill 3957 or the “Kadiwa Agri-Food Terminal Act” is in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent pronouncement that he wants to make permanent Kadiwa centers in each local government unit to help Filipinos cope with the rising prices of food and other commodities.

The Kadiwa store project, an initiative of the Department of Agriculture, which the president concurrently heads, is designed to run only from February to March this year.

“We support the plan to make Kadiwa permanent. In fact, we have been calling for the institutionalization of the program and filed a bill towards this end because it presents a win-win scenario for all concerned,” Lee said on Sunday.

“I hope that we can put this plan into action as soon as possible. This is an opportunity for the national government, Congress and our LGUs to work together to alleviate the people’s plight,” he added.

The bill aims to develop a national network of agricultural and fishery food terminals in each city and municipality across the country.

Should it be passed into law, P25 billion will be appropriated for the program’s first year of implementation and P10 billion will be included in the DA budget for its implementation and continued expansion.