CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan – Cheap rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) has started reaching five resettlement sites in this province.
Rex Estoperez, NFA spokesperson and Central Luzon director, said on Thursday that President Rodrigo Duterte has instructed NFA Administrator Jason Aquino to make sure that the government’s cheap rice reaches poor consumers especially those who are not even capable of going to marketplaces in their town proper to buy the staple.
“The NFA Region 3 Office has come up with the program ‘Tagpuan Day Rice Response Delivery’ that will involve rolling stores to go to indigenous people’s communities, informal settlers’ resettlement sites and rehabilitation centers,” Estoperez said during the launching of “Tagpuan Day Rice Response Delivery” program here.
He said the program will not be implemented during market days in every locality “but will be specifically dedicated on a day that is intended to sell the cheap rice to its intended beneficiaries”.
“The resettlement site in Northville 8 in Malolos City was the first beneficiary of the program in Central Luzon that was made possible through the cooperation of the Grain Retailers Association (GRECON) in Bulacan headed by Emmanuel Jacinto,” he added.
On the other hand, Elvira Obana, NFA-Bulacan manager, said that, initially, five resettlement sites in the cities of Malolos and San Jose del Monte and the towns of Bocaue, Balagtas and Calumpit were identified as beneficiaries of the program.
“The rolling stores will be making weekly rounds in these resettlement sites accompanied by NFA personnel to see to it that the cheap rice is being sold directly to the intended beneficiaries,” Obana said.
She also said that 50 sacks of rice will be initially allocated but the volume can be adjusted based on the rice stocks of the grain agency in Bulacan.
“A maximum of five kilos per consumer is to be sold to the public at PHP27 per kilo that is graded as 25 percent broken rice and when the rice stocks run out, the NFA will unload its 15 percent broken grain rice stock that will be sold at PHP32 per kilo,” Obana explained.
Meanwhile, the GRECON head said that under the program, their association was tapped to provide the rolling stores and coordinate with local officials on the scheduled date when the cheap rice will be sold. (Manny Balbin/PNA)
