LAST week, I was interviewed by several media outlets regarding President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s statement that his administration is close to achieving its campaign promise of selling a kilo of rice at P20. The President proudly announced this during the reinvigoration of the Kadiwa stores by the Department of Agriculture (DA). The Kadiwa stores offer food commodities at cheaper prices on the claim that Kadiwa directly buys from farmers, removing the profit layers of traders before the product reaches consumers.
The Kadiwa project was originally launched during the term of the President's father, Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. It was resurrected at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when William Dar was Agriculture secretary. It is being touted to be upscaled under the current President as the administration's response to soaring food prices. It was in the launching of the 14 Kadiwa stores when the President confidently declared that his campaign promise of P20 per kilogram of rice would soon be realized as the Kadiwa's selling price is between P23 and P25.
Sustainable?
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