To ensure that affordable rice is accessible to the public, former Senator Kiko Pangilinan has urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) to dispose of the National Food Authority’s 300,000-ton aging rice stock to KADIWA outlets once a food security emergency is declared.
While Republic Act No. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law bars the NFA from selling directly to the public, Pangilinan said Republic Act No. 12078 grants the DA Secretary the authority to sell NFA rice stocks to the public through KADIWA outlets during such emergency.
The DA announced that it plans to announce a food security emergency on Jan. 22.
“Sa mahal ng mga bilihin ngayon, malaking tulong at ginhawa para sa mga kababayan natin ang pagkakaroon ng mura at abot-kayang bigas na maaring bilhin sa mga KADIWA centers (With today’s high prices, having affordable and available rice at the KADIWA center is a big help to our people),” Pangilinan said.
The former senator expressed optimism that the government will dispose of NFA’s rice supply quickly to ease the burden of Filipinos experiencing high staple food prices.
“Kailangang maipatupad ito sa lalong madaling panahon nang sa gayon ay maibsan ang mga pasanin ng mga naghihikahos nating kababayan (This needs to be implemented as soon as possible so that the burden of our people is alleviated),” said Pangilinan, who served as food security czar under the administration of President Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino III from June 2014 to September 2015.
That time, Pangilinan successfully reduced rice prices up to P3 pesos per kilo by interventions that reduced rice inflation from 15 percent to 0.8 percent. This brought down nationwide inflation to its lowest rate in 20 years.
