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PAMPANGA First District Rep. Carmelo Lazatin Jr. has filed House Resolution 278 on Sept. 11, 2025, requesting the Department of Agriculture (DA) to establish Kadiwa “Benteng Bigas Meron Na” Rolling Stores in his district.
Officially launched in Batangas on July 10, 2025, the Kadiwa Rolling Store is part of the food security programs of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that seeks to provide rice to Filipinos at an affordable price of P20 per kilo.
On July 16, the DA expanded the program to the Cordilleras and La Union.
Currently, there are 162 Kadiwa locations nationwide selling rice at P20 per kilo. However, there are not enough outlets or “pop-up” stores that could regularly cater to vulnerable sectors in Pampanga.
In a letter addressed to DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., dated Sept. 11, 2025, Lazatin said that his office will provide any assistance that the DA may require to put up Kadiwa Rolling Stores in the First District.
“The Kadiwa program is significant in addressing food security, especially for marginalized communities, and it will greatly benefit our residents in the First District if we could have rolling stores established here,” Lazatin said.
The issue of food security has always been front and center in Lazatin’s agenda.
It can be recalled that as Angeles City mayor, Lazatin spearheaded the nationally acclaimed “Walang Plastikan Plastic Palit Bigas” Program where residents of Angeles City were able to receive one kilo of rice for every one kilo of plastic waste that they turned over to the city government.
The Walang Plastikan program started in 2022 with P90 million allocated in the City’s Annual Investment Program (AIP) for its implementation. Another P100 million was allocated for the program in 2023 and P90 million in 2024.
From January to December 2022, the city government was able to distribute 1,693,213 kilograms of rice to Angeles City residents in exchange for an equal amount of plastic waste.
The program has also helped the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) with 3,356 out of 3,858 (87 percent) 4Ps beneficiary families availing of the program.
In 2024, the Walang Plastikan Program was included among the 17 National Finalists in the Walang Gutom Awards of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Galing Pook Foundation.
During the final panel presentation for the award, Lazatin cited the contribution of the Walang Plastikan Program in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in particular SDG 2: Zero Hunger and SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
“No one goes to bed hungry,” Lazatin said.
