Palo Leyte, July 29 -- The directive to establish more Kadiwa stores will make cheaper rice available to the vulnerable sectors in Eastern Visayas, the National Food Authority's (NFA) regional office here said on Tuesday.

Since there are still no local government units in the region interested in distributing the PHP20 per kg. rice, the NFA said it is counting on Kadiwa stores to dispose of its rice stocks.

"Even prior to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the President, we were informed by the Department of Agriculture that they will set up two Kadiwa stores for each of the 13 congressional districts in the region," NFA 8 (Eastern Visayas) manager May Ann Sabarre said in an interview.

During his SONA on Monday, President Ferdin...