Valenzuela City took part in the simultaneous run of the Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP), as President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. witnessed the memorandum of agreement signing that seeds its establishment in all Local Government Units nationwide and localizing the program to reach more people and to provide an avenue for low-priced agri-fishery products, July 17, 2023.
About 28 local entrepreneurs in the City offered their consumer-friendly products to the customers in Barangay Maysan 3S Center. The conglomerate of sellers is composed of food and non-food stalls. Some of them were Gardenia, Rastacraf, Vaga Coffee, Km 14 Gastro Garage, Jasmin Dessert Shop, El Biko Kakanin, Golden Hands, Kyla’s Amazing Soybeans Co. Ltd., and some of the beneficiaries of Disiplina Village Livelihood Programs have also exhibited their handmade floor rugs.
The Kadiwa ng Pangulo project is the come-up solution of the national government, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), to ensure stable food supply in the country. It aims to provide a selling venue for the country's local producers where people can buy affordable yet high quality agri-fishery products and other necessities.
In his remarks during the ceremonial signing of MOA at Kadiwa ng Pangulo sa Pampanga, President Marcos Jr. briefly discussed the core purpose of the said program. He said, “Ang programa ng Kadiwa ay napakasimple lamang, ang ginawa po natin [ay] inilalapit natin sa magsasaka ang palengke. Kaya’t ‘yung mga middleman, ‘yung mga added cost ay binabawasan natin nang husto yan, at sa ganung paraan ay maipagbili natin ng presyo na mababa. Kaya sa labas nakita ko, sitenta na lang ang kilo ng asukal.” [The Kadiwa program is very simple, what we did was, we bring the market closer to the farmers. So, we reduced the middlemen and its added costs. And in that way, we can sell the products at a lower price. Like what I have saw outside, the sugar is only PhP 70 per kilogram]
One of the highlights of the caravan is the PhP 25 per kilogram of rice from the National Food Authority (NFA).
President Marcos, Jr. believes that the Kadiwa program would be more beneficial if its scope is maximized nationwide to allow reaching more people while sustaining the income of the agricultural sector.
In line with the MOA signing, Kadiwa ng Pangulo will carry on across the country every 15th and 30th of the month, to be facilitated by the DA, DSWD, and DOLE.
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