We are close to achieving P20 rice per kilo, Marcos says

The Philippine government is close to achieving the aspiration of lowering the price of rice to P20 per kilo, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday.

This as Marcos graced the nationwide launch of the Kadiwa ng Pasko project, which aims to provide a market to the country’s local agricultural producers while at the same time giving the public access to affordable and high-quality products.

Marcos said there are still a lot of things which need to be done in order to achieve the goal of lowering the price of rice.

"'Pag bibili ng bigas kinukuha sa NFA, kinukuha sa buffer stock. Doon lang hindi kumikita ang NFA. Kung ano ‘yung pinambili nila, ganoon din ang presyo. Kaya’t ‘yung nakita ninyo, ‘yung bigas, P25. Palapit na tayo doon sa aking pangarap na mag-20 pesos, pero dahan-dahan lang. Aabutin din natin ‘yan pero marami pa tayong gagawin," Marcos said in his message.

(If we get rice from the NFA, if we get from the buffer stock, the NFA will not earn. You can see that the price of rice is P25. We are near to achieving the dream of having rice priced at P20 per kilo. But let's take it slow, there are still things that need to be done.)

"Eh ang dami pang nangyayari. At wala naman tayong magawa dahil ‘yung pagtaas ng presyo ng bilihin ay hindi naman nanggaling sa ekonomiya natin. Nanggaling sa mga pangyayari sa iba’t ibang lugar na hindi naman natin makontrol," he added.

(A lot of things are happening. We can't do anything because the soaring prices of commodities were brought by external forces that we cannot control.)

It was his campaign promise to reduce the price of rice to as low as P20 per kilo. Marcos said the aspiration hinges on fixing the value chain, or the series of stages involved in producing a product or service that is sold to consumers, with each state adding to the value of the product or service.

Albay 2nd District RepresentativeJoey Salceda had said that while this is not impossible, lowering rice prices to P20 would be at the expense of other sectors in the country.

Meanwhile, Marcos committed to add more Kadiwa stalls in the country to provide the public with more affordable goods.

"Patuloy po ito. Pararamihin po natin ito hangga’t may coverage na tayo na national," said Marcos.

(We will continue this. We will add more until our coverage is national.)

"At bukod pa roon, kahit na ang pinangalan namin ay Kadiwa ng Pasko, kahit po pagkatapos ng Pasko patuloy pa rin po ito. Hindi namin ititigil ito," he added.

(Even if we named it as Kadiwa ng Pasko, even if the Christmas season is already finished, we will continue this.) 

The program, which allows farmers and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to directly sell their products to consumers this Christmas season, is part of the initiative of the Marcos administration.

Fourteen sites will be opened simultaneously across the country, including 11 in the National Capital Region, one in Tacloban City, one in Davao De Oro, and one in Koronadal City, South Cotabato.

The lead agency of this project is the Department of Agriculture (DA), which Marcos chairs.

Support agencies include the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). —KG GMA Integrated News