By Stephanie Sevillano

MANILA – The first day of rollout of Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) kiosks in five major public markets in Metro Manila which sells PHP40 per kilogram of well-milled rice received positive feedback from consumers Thursday.
The KNP kiosks, under the Rice for All program, went operational at the Kamuning Market in Quezon City, Malabon Central Market, New Las Piñas City Public Market, Pasay City Public Market, and Guadalupe Public Market in Makati.
This complies with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directives to ensure the accessibility and affordability of rice and other food commodities in local markets.
Virginia Arcos, 57, a house helper, expressed her delight at saving over PHP10/kg. in market expenses for her family of six.
“Maraming salamat na nababaan ang presyo ng bigas. Iyon naman talaga dapat ang hiniling natin kasi lahat ng bilihin ang taas lalo na may pinapaaral ka (I’m thankful that the price of rice was lowered. That’s what we’ve been asking because all commodities are so expensive, especially when you’re sending someone to school),” she told the Philippine News Agency in an interview.
In a separate interview, Oscar Gasang, 62, lauded the Department of Agriculture (DA) for responding to the clamor of the public amid spiking retail prices.
“Malaking bagay po ito para sa atin gawa ng sa panahon ngayon medyo nagtataasan lahat ng bilihin. Ito naman yung matagal nating hinahangad e na bumaba ang presyo ng bigas (This is a huge thing for us because the price of all goods are increasing at these times. This is what we have been hoping for so long, for the prices of rice to drop),” he said.
Meanwhile, DA Assistant Secretary Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra said the availability of KNP kiosks in the five public markets has already resulted in a downward trend of rice prices.
“Nakita naman natin na kapag mayroong isa sa kanila na nagbaba, usually grupo naman sila so sumusunod naman po sila (We saw that once one of them drop their price, usually they belong to a group, so they all follow),” she said in an ambush interview at the Kamuning Market.
The KNP kiosk offers consumers a no-limit purchase with a stable supply coming from the Food and Terminal Incorporated, every Tuesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The operation of KNP Rice for All kiosks in MRT North Avenue and LRT Monumento stations, meanwhile, was rescheduled for Dec. 10 to ensure order and security in designated spaces.
“Ito po ay magbubukas next week na po dahil kailangan nating i-prepare ang venues. Kailangan yung security medyo these are not fully government facility, public katulad ng palengke. So, gusto nila mas prepared po ang bentahan natin doon ng murang bigas (These will open next week because we need to prepare the venues. We need security, because these facilities are not fully government facilities, they are public like markets. So, they want to be more prepared in our sale of cheaper rice),” Velicaria-Guevarra said.
Besides the operations of KNP kiosks in two train stations next week, the DA is also coordinating with Balintawak (Cloverleaf) market and Maypajo public market in Quezon City, Cartimar market in Pasay, Grace market in Pateros, and Paco market for additional sites of KNP kiosks operations within the month. (PNA)