A pro-farmer congressman is backing President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s call to put up permanent Kadiwa stores across the Philippines. "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," said AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee in a statement Sunday, March 12. Marcos, who is acting as secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA), announced his plan to establish more Kadiwa centers during an interview last week. “So, this Kadiwa program will just continue because now we are considering to evolve it. These won’t be so-called pop-up centers, but we will have a permanent Kadiwa center in various LGUs. We are studying the potential sites,” Marcos said. Lee earlier files House Bill (HB) No. 3957 or the "Kadiwa Agri-Food Terminal" bill. It aims to institutionalize the DA's Kadiwa program through an initial P25-billion fund, which the agency can use to set up and manage Kadiwa Agri-Food Terminals in every local government unit (LGU) in the country. The rookie lawmaker said that scaling up the Kadiwa initiative across country could serve as a concrete and immediate intervention to the current food crisis. Lee also said that making the Kadiwa program permanent would help eliminate the need for farmers and fisherfolk to approach unscrupulous middlemen. It is widely known that middlemen cause prices of agricultural goods to increase, without benefit to the farmers. "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 said.