President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. witnessed on Monday the ceremonial signing of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) on the Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, aimed at institutionalizing and sustaining the establishment of the KNP at the local level through collaboration among agencies.
“Dito sa MOA na ito talagang pinaghahatian ng local government at saka national government ito. Hindi kayang gawin ng national government na maikalat lahat ng ating gustong ipadala na mga murang pagkain kung hindi ating kasama at ka-partner ang local government,” President Marcos said during the event held at the Pampanga Provincial Capitol.
“Kaya’t ito’y isa na namang magandang halimbawa para ipakita kung papaano… nagtutulungan, hindi lamang ang national government, hindi lamang ang mga iba’t ibang ahensiya, departamento ng national government, kundi pati na rin ang mga local governments,” he added.
The President said there’s a need to boost production to sustain the Kadiwa program and maintain affordable prices of basic commodities that favor consumers, which can be done with the assistance of various sectors.
To realize this goal, Marcos said the Department of Agriculture (DA), with the help of other agencies, is working to boost grain and fish production, as well as finding solutions to the diseases that plague the livestock and poultry industries.
In the fishery sector, he said the government is putting up cold storage facilities in coastal areas to minimize or prevent spoilage, which he said could reach up to 20 to 30 percent.
“Binabantayan natin nang mabuti ang mga fishing grounds na i-develop natin para dumami ang isda. Naibaba na natin ang presyo ng ilang produkto ngunit kailangan na ngayon natin tuloy-tuloy na ipababa at paramihin ang produksyon,” he said.
“Ngayon kung mayroon tayong sobra, mae-export na natin. Pero hindi basta-basta mage-export. Kailangan mai-package natin, kailangan competitive tayo kung mage-export tayo.”
The Kadiwa program is a farm-to-consumer market chain that eliminates intermediaries, allowing local producers to generate higher income by selling their produce directly to consumers.
The MOA on the KNP was entered into by the DA, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Presidential Communications Office (PCO), and Presidential Management Staff (PMS).
Under the agreement, the DA shall serve as the lead convenor of the Kadiwa ng Pangulo operations, while the DTI, DOLE, and DILG shall serve as co-convenors. PND
