As Christmas approaches, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. assured the public that the country has enough rice supply for the Holiday season as he inspected a warehouse of the National Food Authority (NFA) in Valenzuela on Saturday, December 17.
In an interview with reporters, the President said the country was doing fine in terms of rice supply despite the decrease in the volume of imports.
"Oo, mukha naman , so far. Nabawasan kasi, talagang binawasan natin yung importation, doon natin kinukuha sa production (It looks like we have a lot, so far. The number went down because we brought down importation and we're getting our supply from the production). So okay, I think we'll be alright," he said.
However, Marcos said the government should not be complacent as there could be certain circumstances that could affect the country's rice supply.
"Kailangang bantayan nang husto iyan. 'Pag tinamaan na naman tayo ng masamang weather, mararamdaman na naman natin 'yan sa supply ng palay, ng bigas (We need to really watch out for this. If we're hit with a bad weather, our supply of rice will take a toll again)," he added.
According to the President, he inspected the warehouse after he heard concerns during the Kadiwa ng Pasko station in Quezon City that the rice supply for the program might be cut.
The Kadiwa ng Pasko program aims to provide a market to local farmers and fishermen for their produce and small business enterprises selling basic necessities. Marcos said there are now over 350 Kadiwa stations nationwide.
"Tinitignan ko kung saan manggagaling yung supply na pinagbibili natin sa mga Kadiwa, so pinuntahan ko muna kung may laman naman yung mga warehouse at merong parating pa nga (I'm checking where we're getting the rice we're selling at the Kadiwa that's why I'm checking the warehouses if there are supplies. There are more to come)," he said.
"This is already the season na naglalabas na ng bigas so tuloy-tuloy na siguro ito para naman matiyak natin na ang Kadiwa ay hindi mauubusan ng commodities na ipagbibili at a good price na P25 (This is the time where we release rice so we'll be doing this constantly to ensure that the Kadiwa will not run out of commodities to sell at a good price of P25)," he added.
Marcos, who also heads the Department of Agriculture (DA), once said that he was getting closer to his dream of bringing the price of rice down to P20 per kilo, noting that the Kadiwa caravan was already selling rice for P25.
Before he inspected the NFA Warehouse in Valenzuela, the President visited the Kadiwa ng Pasko Caravan in the city. There, he reiterated that the program was aimed at bringing cheap commodities to consumers, especially during Christmas.
"Kaya't ito pong kadiwa sa Pasko ay ang aming munting pagtulong para naman ay maging mas masaya ang ating Pasko itong taon na ito (This Kadiwa ng Pasko is our small help so you can have a merrier Christmas this year)," Marcos said.
The Chief Executive added that the Kadiwa ng Pasko, which he is pushing to be institutionalized, was an avenue for small businesses to sell their merchandise. He also wants the Kadiwa to operate beyond the Holiday season.
"Nabibigyan din natin ng pagkakataon ang mga local producers ng mga maliliit na produkto na meron silang merkado, meron silang palengke kung saan sila maaaring pumunta at ipagbili ang kanilang mga ginawang gamit (We're giving local producers of small products a chance to have a market where they can sell their products)," he said.
"Kaya po marami po tayong nakikita na advantage sa ating ginagawa na Kadiwa ng Pasko (That's why we're seeing many advantages with this Kadiwa ng Pasko)," he added.
What about onions?
Meanwhile, President Marcos said the government was doing its best to release smuggled onions to the markets as quickly as possible amid the rising price of onions.
"We’re finding a way. Ang daming nahahanap na smuggled na kinukuha namin (We've been confiscating lots of smuggled onions)," he said.
"As quickly as possible, naghahanap nga kami ng paraan kasi usually ‘yan kakasuhan mo pa bago ‘yung auction. By the time, i-auction mo ‘yan, wala na sira na ‘yan (We're finding a way because, usually, you have to file case first before you can auction it off but the onions are already spoiled by that time)," he added.
Marcos said they could have a solution to the problem by next week.
"Kaya’t sabi ko hanap tayo ng paraan para mailabas kaagad, mailagay sa market kaagad. So ‘yun ang pinag-aaralan namin ngayon. Baka by next week mayroon na tayong solution (I said we have to find a way to release them to the market immediately. We're studying that now. Maybe by next week we'll have a solution)," he said.