THE National Food Authority said Tuesday its supply of cheap rice in Metro Manila has already been consumed, and that the country no longer enjoyed food security.
“Actually, the whole of Metro Manila [no longer has cheap rice],” NFA North District Office manager Arnel Alfonso told the TV news program Balitanghali. “The stocks that are left have already been paid for by the Department of Social Welfare and Development. We have no food security,” he added in a mix of Filipino and English.
Alfonso said the NFA’s importation of 250,000 metric tons or 5 million bags in September wasn’t enough.
On a nationwide basis, he said, the supply of seven to eight days was far from the 15 days mandated for food security, he said.
Alfonso added, however, that there was no shortage of rice, per se, but of inexpensive rice.
—NFA North District Office manager Arnel Alfonso
“The supply is sufficient,” he said in Filipino. “There is no rice crisis, but maybe a price crisis.”
Malacañang on Tuesday admitted that stock of cheap NFA rice is low but assured the public that the overall rice supply in Metro Manila is more than sufficient and that there was no need to panic.
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the rice supply is sufficient with plenty to spare despite the pronouncement of the NFA North District Office.
In a text message, Guevarra said there is no rice shortage and that the unusual rise in prices could only be the result of manipulation.
The Palace official said the government would monitor rice traders closely.
Senator Grace Poe, meanwhile, called for the resignation of NFA Administrator Jason Aquino.
“If there is indeed a zero percent buffer of rice, this is an indication of the inefficiency of his leadership,” Poe said in a statement.
“The NFA’s buffer stock is a lifeline for the thousands of Filipinos who subsist on rice and little else. Rice is the most important staple food for at least 10 million poor Filipinos,” she said.
The senator said it was unbelievable that the supply of NFA rice has already been wiped out at a time when the country’s rice production has hit a record high.
This situation is directly attributed to the inefficient management at the NFA, which is mandated to ensure the availability of affordable rice, she said.
“The current NFA officials have been remiss in their duties and responsibilities,” she said.
Aquino, on the other hand, called for the maintenance of a National Rice Reserve even under a time of surplus because rice production is never assured or certain at all times. This, he said, would also spare the country from exposure to price volatility brought about by global political and economic shifts.
In its position paper on the tariffication of rice imports in lieu of quantitative restrictions, NFA said government should maintain a National Rice Reserve equivalent to at least 15 days national consumption requirement. At present, the country’s daily consumption requirement is 32,013 metric tons or 640,260 bags.