President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the number of Kidiwa stores in the country reached over 300.

The opening of Kadiwa stores is part of the government's effort to ease the suffering of the ordinary Filipino citizen due to the increasing prices of commodities in the country.

"When we started to open Kadiwa, we only had a few of them here in Metro Manila, around less than 20. Then the following Saturday it becomes 40," Marcos said in his speech in Valenzuela City on Saturday morning.

"Now I asked the organizer, in the entire country we now opened more than 350 Kadiwa stores, it operates to provide assistance to our people, amid the increasing prices," he added.

Marcos said although the government called it as Kadiwa ng Pasko, he ensures that the Kadiwa stores will continue to operate to provide affordable products even after the holiday season.

"It does not only give our people a chance to buy at lower prices, we also provide a chance to the local producers that they have a market where they can sell their products," he said.

"We make it as a pilot project, even after Christmas we will continue this where our people can buy goods at lower prices," he added.

Despite the lower prices offered in Kadiwa stores, the price of onion remains high with 120 per kilo for small types.

Marcos said the government is finding a way on how the government can bring the seized smuggled onions to the market to prevent wastage.

"We are finding a way because usually a case should be filed before an auction. By the time it will be auctioned it might already be rotten. That is why I said, let's find a way to release it, and bring it to the market as soon as possible," he said.

"We are studying that right now. Maybe next week we already have a solution," he added. Robina Asido/DMS