(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 68th birthday today, Sept. 13, will be highlighted by the opening of 100 Kadiwa sites throughout the country that will sell rice at P20 per kilogram, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced on Friday.
The Kadiwa sites are the President’s birthday gift to the Filipino people, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.
The sites’ stores usually sell the subsidized rice only to members of vulnerable sectors. On the President’s birthday, the sites will be open to the general public.
Buyers only need to present a valid identification (ID) card. The Kadiwa sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
On Friday, the eve of his birthday, the President hosted “Salo-salo sa Palasyo” for the public in Malacañang.
The President arrived at the venue riding a golf cart with first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.
The first couple, who was joined by their sons William Vincent and Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander “Sandro” Marcos, also interacted with the children who attended the gathering.
The “Salo-salo sa Palasyo” has become an annual tradition under the Marcos administration, symbolizing openness, gratitude and the enduring bond between the President and the people he serves.
The crowd sang “Happy Birthday” for the President.
Among those who greet Marcos was Elza Batara, 71, from Ilocos Norte.
“Happy birthday, Apo Presidente. Long live, God bless [and] always take care. I hope you continue to do great work for our countrymen,” Batara said.
Marietta Sumagan, 70, from Bagong Pag-Asa, Quezon City, said she was thankful for being part of the celebration and prayed for more birthdays for the President.
For Teodora Nuñez, 65, also from Bagong Pag-Asa, the event was a chance to personally greet the President.
Traveling from Nueva Ecija, Florencia Morales, 79, offered prayers for the President’s health, safety and guidance in leading the nation.
“I am here to wish you a very happy birthday, Mr. President. May God bless you and watch over you in all the things you wish to provide to the people,” Morales said.
Community leaders from neighborhoods around Malacañang also shared in the festivities.
Barangay 829 Chairman Romualdo Billanes said he was happy that the President remembered his community.
Kagawad Helen Aguilar of Barangay 829 said the President’s gesture of sharing his birthday with the public shows his generosity and accessibility.
“We see that the President is doing everything. Today is his birthday, he is the one who has a gift for us. It is rare. We have seen many presidents. The Marcoses’ era was really different,” Aguilar said.
Marcos, the country’s 17th president, was born on Sept. 13, 1957.
Tiu Laurel said opening Kadiwa sites to the general public would serve as logistical test for a much wider rollout of the government’s flagship food security program
Simultaneous with the event, DA officials will also distribute assistance, such as machinery and input, to farmers and fisherfolk across the country.
Initially exclusive to solo parents, senior citizens, persons with disabilities and indigents, the Kadiwa rice program has expanded to include minimum wage earners, farmers and fisherfolk.
The DA said that by next week, transport workers, teaching and nonteaching staff of the Department of Education, and beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Walang Gutom program can avail themselves of the program.
Marcos has ordered the DA to expand the program to reach 15 million households or 60 million Filipinos by 2026 and sustain the program until the end of his term in 2028.
