Friday, April 11, 2008 Bacolod forms 'bantay bugas' task force
ALARMED by the recent surge in the prices of rice and other food items, Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia has ordered the formation of Task Force Bantay Bugas (TFBB).
This as Leonardia said the food shortage, which now plagues many countries in the world, could also affect the whole province of Negros Occidental.
He admitted that prices of rice and other basic commodities in the city have been increasing gradually and this condition, as in the past, could be taken advantage of by some people by artificially jacking up rice prices to the detriment of the consumers.
The main tasks of the TFBB, Leonardia said, include the identification and monitoring of supplies and sales of rice of dealers, suppliers, distributors, and retailers.
They may also apprehend hoarders and unscrupulous traders and keep tabs on variations of rice prices in coordination with the Local Price Monitoring and Coordinating Council.
The TFBB will also help ensure that NFA rice is sold to the public at a cost set by the National Food Authority and is not diverted or re-bagged and sold at commercial prices; as well as assist in the delivery of NFA stocks to various authorized outlets, especially in the barangays and puroks of the city.
The TFBB is composed of the city mayor as chairman, the city agriculturist as vice-chairman; the chairpersons of the City Council's committees on agriculture, trade and commerce as co-vice chairpersons; and representatives of NFA, Department of Trade and Industry, and the executive assistant for agriculture.
Leonardia said the TFBB would be meeting with the NFA administrator to establish specific rules and guidelines on the distribution of NFA rice.
He added he is open to the proposal by some sectors that the NFA rice would be sold directly to consumers through the local government units and churches, instead of the private retailers.
"I am open to it but it all depends on our discussion with the NFA people," Leonardia said. (Karl G. Ombion)
