BACOLOD City – The National Food Authority (NFA) in Negros Occidental has temporarily suspended the distribution of government rice to grains retailers to focus on supplying rice to the local government units (LGUs) while the province is under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
Negros Occidental and Bacolod City have been placed under ECQ from March 30 to April 14 to contain the further spread of coronavirus pandemic.
“We temporarily stopped the rice distribution to grains businessmen since the start of the implementation of the ECQ. Our priorities, for now, are the LGUs and the Department of Social Welfare and Development,” provincial manager Josephine Venus Dasal-Castillo said on Monday.
She said many buyers have been asking why the P27 per kilogram NFA rice is not available, especially in public markets.
“We have already explained to the grains retailers why we have to suspend the market distribution. We don’t have enough personnel to monitor (them),” she added.
The NFA official said their mandate is to provide rice to LGUs and other government institutions in times of disaster or calamity.
On April 2, the provincial government purchased an additional P19.5 million worth of NFA rice distributed to all subsidy to all 19 municipalities, which receive an added rice allocation of P500,000 each.
Initially, the province purchased P31 million worth of rice supply, which is equivalent to 24,800 bags. It was released to all 31 LGUs – 19 towns and 12 component cities – each receiving 800 bags amounting to P1 million.
The Bacolod City government also procured 10,000 bags worth P12.5 million. Some LGUs also purchased separately more than 15,000 bags.
Dasal-Castillo said the NFA-Negros Occidental is managing the rice stocks to ensure the availability of buffer when the need arises.
The transfer of the remaining 44,000 bags from NFA-Western Visayas to the province is ongoing. These stocks are part of the 100,000 bags requested by the NFA-Negros Occidental from the regional office. (with report from PNA/PN)
