Imee Marcos urges ‘direct interventions’ to keep rice prices down

Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos. INQUIRER.NET PHOTO/CATHY MIRANDA

MANILA, Philippines — To help keep rice prices low and ensure that supply of grain remains ample, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos urged local government units to do “direct interventions” in the farm sector.

The interventions include providing fertilizers and seeds to farmers while buying their produce and selling these at pop-up stores.

“Local government units (LGUs) are the front liners in the war against high prices of basic goods, including rice. LGUs play a major role in securing cheap and steady supply of essential products,” Marcos said in a statement issued on Wednesday. “We can help keep prices low at the grassroots level.”

Marcos is the only incumbent local executive running for senator in the 2019 midterm polls.

She said that the LGUs could create Kadiwa pop-up stores to sell heavily discounted basic goods, including rice.

She stressed that Kadiwa centers could provide not only steady supply of cheap basic goods for poor families but it could also create a sure market for the farmers’ produce.

“The Kadiwa stores can likewise carry cheap Christmas goodies and Noche Buena packages,” Marcos said. /atm