MANILA, Philippines — More rolling stores selling agricultural products at lower prices should be deployed to aid Filipinos as food prices soar in the market, Quezon City 5th Dist. Rep. Alfred Vargas said Thursday.
Under House Resolution No. 1495, Vargas, who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Social Services, called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to deploy more rolling stores through the “Kadiwa Ni Ani at Kita Program.”
Vargas explained that Kadiwa is a market system launched in 2019, which sells major agricultural goods, sourced directly from farmers and fishermen at reasonably low prices to help poor Filipino households.
Quezon City 5th District Rep. Alfred Vargas. FILE PHOTO
The lawmaker said the Kadiwa program is a collaborative effort of the DA, the DILG, and Food Terminal Inc. (FTI), and is available in three variants—Kadiwa on Wheels, Kadiwa Retail, and Kadiwa Online.
“Recognizing the importance and success of the Kadiwa Program to maintain and stabilize prices, make accessible many affordable basic commodities, and support farmers and fisherfolk, the government must ensure full support for this program and the deployment of additional Kadiwa Rolling Stores in areas determined to be in need of such services,” Vargas said in the resolution.
Earlier this week, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the country is now under a state of calamity due to high prices of goods such as pork, chicken, vegetables, and fruit.
Dar cited the persistence of African swine fever (ASF) in hog farms, the typhoons that devastated crops, and the alleged price manipulation among traders and resellers as possible reasons behind the soaring prices of the goods.