CABINET Secretary Karlo Nograles on Tuesday said the Inter-Agency Task Force has recommended to the Office of the President the importation of a total of 300,000 metric tons of rice for contingency purposes during this enhanced community quarantine in Luzon.
Nograles, the spokesman of the task force, said the proposal of the Department of Agriculture would be done by the Philippine International Trading Corporation through government-to-government arrangements.
āNirerekomenda ng IATF sa Office of the President ang proposal ng DA na mag-import ng 300,000 metric tons ng bigas para matiyak na hindi po tayo maubusan ng supply,ā Nograles said at a press briefing.
Nograles also reiterated the national policy on the unhampered movement of cargoes and workers from permitted establishments, especially those delivering agriculture and food products.
āInuulit po ng IATF na dapat hayaan ang tuloy-tuloy na daloy ng mga kargamento at pagpasok ng mga manggagawa sa sektor ng agrikultura at food production,ā Nograles said.
In his address to Filipinos late Monday night, President Rodrigo Duterte said the priorities of the government in fighting the COVID-19 threat were providing emergency assistance to affected sectors, securing facilities or resources for the health sector, and performing fiscal and monetary actions for the economy.(GMA News)
