Officials of the National Food Administration (NFA) are being grilled by senators on the alleged shortage of NFA rice in the local market.
Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food Chairperson Cynthia Villar berated the NFA officials today for supposedly sowing misinformation on the situation.
"Don't make announcements to cause panic to the people. There is no rice shortage. It is only the NFA that is failing to do its job," she told NFA Administrator Jason Aquino and other NFA executives.
Villar clarified it is only that buffer stock of the agency that is almost depleted.
This means, should there be a rice crisis in the country, the NFA can fill the gap for two days.
But the NFA's mandate is to ensure a buffer stock that will last for 15 days.
NFA officials told the senators that this status in the buffer stock has been ongoing for a year.