Iloilo City is taking steps to make its ‘Merkado Local/USWAG Rolling Store’ a permanent fixture, aiming to secure its future and enhance its role as a vital income source for local fishers and farmers. The initiative, known as the ‘Ordinance Institutionalizing the Katuwang sa Diwa at Gawa (KADIWA) para sa Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita Program in the City of Iloilo’, has been proposed by Mayor Jerry Treñas and is currently under review by the city council. The ordinance seeks to ensure the program’s ongoing operation, highlighting its importance in providing nutritional benefits, supporting livelihoods, promoting local products, and offering marginalized communities a platform to sell their goods. Iloilo City Agriculturist Iñigo Garingalao emphasized the program’s alignment with the Department of Agriculture’s KADIWA initiative and expressed intentions to collaborate with the DA’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division to expand the program. Merkado Local occurs every third week of the month on Thursday and Friday in front of the Kerr and Company Building, while the rolling store visits various plazas across the city on different days of the week. These markets are also accessible to farmers from the broader Iloilo province, serving not only as sales venues but also as hubs for knowledge exchange. In 2024, the Merkado Local and rolling stores reported a significant gross sales figure of PHP8.95 million.
