CEBU CITY, Philippines - Some Cebu town mayors said rural residents were going hungry because stocks of cheap government rice were barely reaching the municipalities.This prompted Capitol officials on Monday to ask the National Food Authority (NFA) to deputize town mayors and barangay captains so they could help monitor the distribution of government rice and corn stocks in their areas.
“This alarms the Provincial Board kay kami ang sumbongan sa mga tao. Let us not wait for drastic measures that the people may take. A hungry stomach is dangerous,” said Provincial Board Member Agnes Magpale. NFA rice is supposed to be sold at P18.25 per kilo but access to the cheap stocks, which has become a pronounced problem in Metro Cebu, is also getting more difficult in the towns. In a dialogue during the Provincial Boards’ regular session, town mayors and rice retailers raised their complaints to officials of the Department of Agriculture and NFA who were invited to address their concerns. “Ang mga tao nangagutom na (People are starting to get hungry),” said Mayor Esteban Sia of Ronda. He said a fish vendor told him her family has started eating “lugaw” (porridge) to maximize their meager supply of rice. The vendor had asked the mayor to buy her fish just so she could bring home even two kilos of rice for her family. Marlinda Fabe, a rice retailer in Badian town, said residents of Barangay (village) Bugas have to travel to the public market in the poblacion (town proper) to buy rice. Only 12 bags of rice are released per week to the Tindahan Natin outlet in their barangay, which caters to 500 households. A retailer from Borbon town in north Cebu said only 24 sacks of rice are released to the two authorized NFA retailers in their municipality, which has a population of 23,000. “Kulang kaayo ang supply. Unsaon man namo pagkabuhi ana? (The supply is very inadequate. How are we supposed to survive with that?),” she said. Board Member Victor Maambong said there was a need for coordinated effort to address hoarding of NFA rice and how some vendors repack the grains and sell them at higher commercial prices. He favored deputizing mayors and tanods (village security officers) as NFA agents. “Let them be involved in this burning issue kay pagkaon man na,” he said. However, DA and NFA officials insisted there was enough rice supply in Cebu and that only the price of rice is higher by P2 to P3 per kilo. “There is no crisis. If there is crisis ang mga tao magpila unta. Pero ang pila is only for the NFA rice,” said DA Regional Director Ricardo Oblena.
Oblena said the expensive cost of rice is a “global concern.” He cited several factors – climate change, price increases of fertilizers and fuel, water scarcity, the dilapidated state of the country's irrigation system; the conversion of farm lands for commercial, industrial and residential use, restricted imports of rice in the global market. He said the Philippines is affected because the country only produces 92 percent of its rice requirement. The remaining 8 percent is imported from Thailand, Vietnam, China and India. Rice that used to be sold for $200 per metric tons in 2003 now cost $707 per metric ton, he said. Provincial Board officials were convinced the problem of inadequate supply of NFA rice was real. The complaints from the towns are clear proof of a rice shortage in Cebu, said Board Member Wilfredo Caminero “Until when will this last? We want to know so that the province and the mayors can prepare remedies. There must be a shortage because people fight to buy rice,” he said. Mayor Sia of Ronda town said as mayors were in the best position to determine if NFA rice delivered to retailers is being sold to its intended consumers or used for another purpose. “Why don't you give the office of the mayor the authority to check on the number of bags delivered after every delivery and the number of sacks sold in a day?” he said. NFA assistant manager Jesus Donque promised to give on Monday a list of authorized NFA retailers per locality but gave no assurance mayors would be deputized as NFA watchdog agents to inspect retailers. Board Member Juan Bolo said the NFA should authorize the provincial federation of the Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) and their tanods to make a citizens’ arrest on retailers caught hoarding NFA rice or selling these at commercial prices. Board member Caminero said he will propose in next week's session a resolution the price monitoring councils of the different localities to keep an eye on rice and corn retailers in their areas. He said he would discuss with fellow legislators the need to dole out cash to use as a reward for monitoring councils just to catch unscrupulous retailers. The board on Monday approved two resolutions, sponsored by Bolo. One urges Cebuanos to refrain from wasting rice. The other calls on the DA and DENR to ensure the conservation of agricultural lands. | 
