ILOILO City – The National Food Authority (NFA) in Region 6 is not favoring any group of accredited retailers buying rice from its Iloilo warehouse, according to Director Angel Imperial.
A “simple miscommunication” was how he considered the complaint of Alyansa ng Industriya ng Bigas (ANIB), an association of rice retailers in Iloilo.
According to ANIB, retailers from a rival group got lots of stocks from the grains agency’s Iloilo warehouse while its own members were turned away or released only with a few bags on April 18.
Imperial said the availability of stocks is what determines the volume of rice that NFA could sell to retailers.
A retailer cannot get the same number of sacks of rice all the time, he stressed.
Imperial defended NFA Iloilo manager Oliver Cambas from ANIB’s accusation of being selective.
“’Yung gusto nila na equal distribution, to me hindi. It should be equitable. ‘Equal’ and ‘equitable’ are two different thing,” said Imperial.
There are things to consider, he stressed.
“Who needs the supply the most? If you are the provincial manager, who will you prioritize?” said Imperial.
During calamities, for example, relief operations (rice distribution) takes precedence, he stressed.
NFA is required to have a rice reserve good for at least 15 days during harvest season and at least 30 days during the lean months of July to September. These buffer stocks are maintained to ensure that the country would have rice in case of emergency situations or natural disasters.
Imperial said NFA also takes into consideration the rice requirements of government agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
Another priority, he said, are the island municipalities or barangays that do not produce rice.
“Ang matira, ‘yun na ‘yung pangbenta natin through accredited rice retailers,” said Imperial.
There are 165 accredited NFA rice retailers in Iloilo province.
Today, Imperial is meeting retailers. The concern of ANIB would be among the matters he would discuss.
According to the NFA regional director, 250,000 metric tons of rice imports would be delivered to the country by the second half of May.
Of these, 8,000 metric tons would go to Western Visayas, said Imperial.
Half of the 8,000 metric tons would go to Iloilo while the other half to Bacolod City (Negros Occidental), he added.
“We will discuss with the retailers how we’ll handle these incoming stocks,” said Imperial. “Ano ang magiging setup natin…ano ang inaasahan sa mga accredited retailers and what they can expect also from us para malinaw.”/PN
