Peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng PIlipinas (KMP) refuted presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos’ promise to bring down rice prices to P20 per kilogram (kg).
“Why would we repeat another failure? But then again that pretty much sums up Marcos Jr.’s candidacy,” said KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos in a statement on Wednesday, April 27.
Ramos disclosed that the proposal to subsidize rice prices is not foreign as this was already tried by former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. through the implementation of Kadiwa stores.
“Started in 1980, the Kadiwa program was meant to provide basic commodities, procured by the government in bulk, at affordable prices. Costing the government P18 million within two years, Kadiwa was characterized by hoarding, raids, and by 1983 empty rice shelves. By May to November 1984, rice prices even surged by 25.9 percent to P5.35 per kilo, eating up a third of the then P16 daily minimum wage,” said Ramos.
The peasant group, on the other hand, underscored that the only “sustainable way” to make rice affordable is by increasing its local production.