MANILA — The National Food Authority is stepping up its rice monitoring activities to protect the consumers especially in areas affected by the recent flooding caused by monsoon rains and Typhoon Karding against businessmen who may be taking advantage of the situation.
NFA Administrator Jason Aquino has directed the agency’s field offices nationwide to deploy monitoring teams in public markets and even in the communities to ensure that NFA accredited retail outlets are selling the rice at the government prescribed price and are compliant with the trading rules and regulations. He said that rice monitoring also covers the price and supply flow of commercial rice.
Aquino said that he has also authorized these monitoring teams to conduct inspection in rice mills and private warehouses to make sure that there is no rice hoarding.
He said that the agency is mandated to stabilize the supply and prices of the staple especially in stricken areas as a result of a natural or man-made calamity or emergency.
“We are urging the public to report to us any anomalous observations against erring businessmen through our NFA Kontra Abuso hotline 0927-871-5921 and Hotline 8888 so we could immediately act on their complaints. So far, we have already received more than 300 complaints nationwide through these platforms, which we have verified and acted upon.” said Aquino.
Most of the complaints received by the agency were over-pricing of NFA rice, non-availability, diversion, alleged re-bagging and mixing.
The public should be vigilant. “We need the cooperation of the public to go against these erring businessmen so that government subsidized rice will truly benefit the marginalized sector of our society, especially this time when most of our kababayans are still recovering from the effects of the recent calamity,” Aquino said. (NFA PR/PNA)
