Malacañang urges NFA, council to stop blame game on rice woes

Escarez said the NFA requested for rice importation as early as October 2017 but the NFA Council only approved it in May this year. (File photo: National Food Authority)

MANILA — Malacañang on Wednesday advised officials of the National Food Authority (NFA) and its policy-making body, the NFA Council, against blaming each other for the country’s insufficient rice supply and its increased prices.

In a congressional hearing Tuesday, NFA officer-in-charge Tomas Escarez blamed “the bureaucracy” at the NFA Council for the delayed arrival of imported rice to prevent the stock from depleting.

Escarez said the NFA requested for rice importation as early as October 2017 but the NFA Council only approved it in May this year.

However, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Ruth Castelo, a member of the NFA Council, said it was NFA’s fault for submitting its rice supply inventory late.

Castelo also blamed the NFA for making a declaration of rice shortage which led to a spike in rice prices.

“Hindi po dapat nagsisisihan (They should stop blaming each other),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in an interview over DZRH.

Roque said it was clear to him that the NFA Council simply wanted to see the NFA inventory before it started importing rice.

“Malinaw naman po sa mga debate diyan sa NFA na ang gusto lang makita ng NFA Council, eh ano ba ang imbentaryo, para magkaroon ng dahilan para mag-import (It is clear that the debate there in the NFA is that the NFA Council wanted to see the inventory to have a reason to start importing),” Roque said.

“Pero sa akin po—iyon nga po hindi rin naman nabigyan ng kasagutan iyang hinihinging impormasyon ng NFA Council (To me, there were never any answers to the information being sought by the NFA Council),” he added.

Roque, meanwhile, assured that the government continues to find means to address the country’s rice woes by increasing rice supply.

“Ang solusyon po kasi sa mataas na presyo ng bigas at kakulangan ay damihan ang supply (The solution to high prices of rice and shortage is to increase the supply),” Roque said.

“At ang supply madadamihan lamang kapag talagang hinayaan na nating mag-angkat ang kahit sino ng bigas (And the supply can only be increased if we allow anyone to import rice),” he added, subject to paying higher tariffs and protection of local rice farmers.

Duterte earlier scrapped the rice import quotas and ordered the NFA to purchase locally-produced rice under “buy high, sell low” policy.

“What the President has said, instead of the foreigners getting the profit, we better spend it in the Philippines–the Filipino farmers are the ones who will earn,” Roque said.

Last April, Roque confirmed that President Rodrigo R. Duterte has decided to place the NFA back under the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Aside from the NFA, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) and the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA) will also return to DA.

The NFA, PCA, FPA were placed under the Office of the President during the term of former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.