NIGHT OWL
Anna Mae Lamentillo
Ensuring access to affordable food is one of the priorities of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. However, with high inflation, many think this could not be possible.
President Marcos made it possible. Through the Kadiwa ng Pasko centers, affordable products, including rice at ₱25 per kilo, are made available to the public.
The Kadiwa ng Pasko is a project that seeks to address inflation by providing the public with affordable and high-quality products especially in the upcoming holiday season. It also provides a market to the country’s local agricultural producers, farmers, fisherfolks, and small business enterprises selling basic necessities.
Fourteen sites were opened simultaneously across the country on Nov. 16, including 11 in the National Capital Region, one in Tacloban City, one in Davao De Oro, and one in Koronadal City, South Cotabato.
In launching the project, the President emphasized that we now see that having ₱25 per kilo of rice is possible, soon we can make our dream of ₱20 per kilo of rice possible as well.
PRESIDENT FERDINAND R. MARCOS, JR. attends the launching of 'Kadiwa ng Pasko' in Mandaluyong City.
It really is possible when a leader has a vision and knows very well what to prioritize to improve the lives of the people. The opening of Kadiwa centers is just one way to help address inflation especially in the short term, but having these centers empowers both consumers, who can now access high-quality goods at an affordable price, and our local agricultural producers, who can now earn more for their products because they are now free from the control of unscrupulous traders and middlemen.
President Marcos said that the government will continue the Kadiwa centers even after Christmas and will continue to implement other measures aimed at improving the lives of Filipinos.
From the start, agriculture has been a high priority for the President, and rightfully so because it is imperative for our leaders to ensure our nation’s food security. The Covid-19 pandemic, the global events that have been affecting the prices of basic commodities, and our country’s vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change impacts all threaten our food security.
This is also the reason why the President assumed the post of Agriculture Secretary, noting the severity of the challenges in the sector that need to be addressed. The Kadiwa centers is now helping solve one of the decades-old problems of farmers, fisherfolks, and local agricultural producers of earning little despite their hard work.
But another important message that the Kadiwa ng Pasko project imparts is that, we can dream for our nation and turn it into reality so long as we have a leader who has a vision of what he wants for our country, works hard to achieve it, and is supported by the very people he serves.