Bureau of Corrections Director General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. yesterday said the Kadiwa pop-up store at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa is a birthday gift of BuCor and the Department of Agriculture to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Catapang bared this during the opening of a much bigger Kadiwa pop-up store along Aguinaldo Avenue, Poblacion, Muntinlupa City.

"Actually some of the vegetables sold at the Kadiwa were planted and harvested by our PDLs (persons deprived of liberty) like eggplant, okra, ampalaya, kalabasa, patola, pechay, kangkong and banana," he said.

"With the guidance of our Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla, this project is our way of bringing the government closer to the people," Catapang added.

The Kadiwa store will be open to the public every weekend.

The BuCor chief has stated earlier that 10 hectares of land at the NBP in Muntinlupa City are now being developed as part of the continuing partnership with the DA for the President's food security program.

The land being developed in partnership with the DA will augment the Argo production inside the NBP wherein PDLs were tasked to plant vegetables.

Catapang also declared that aside from the Kadiwa store, the NBP will be a permanent food terminal to be called Pambansang Bagsakan ng Bigas para sa Mamamayan and a transportation hub south of Manila.

There are also housing projects lined up for illegal settlers in the area and also for BuCor employees, Catapang added.

DA-Bureau of Plant Industry Director Gerald Glenn Panganiban, for his part, said that they are conducting free seminars to train the community in urban farming to help the public become sustainable.

"Instead of us buying, its better to produce even if we are in the urban centers, we can do something by planting which we want to teach to the people," said Catapang.

Aside from Catapang and Panganiban, also present during the re-opening of the Kadiwa store were Ruel Gesmundo, also of DA-BPI, Poblacion barangay chairman Allen Fresnedi Ampaya and barangay councilor Francis Cruzada.