Thursday, June 05, 2008 Cebu City Hall to sell cheap rice in 80 barangays; stocks arriving
CEBU City Hall will help distribute sacks of government-subsidized rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) to the 80 barangays in the city.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña said yesterday that Agriculture Secretary Arturo Yap ordered the delivery of more NFA rice to Cebu City and asked City Hall to help distribute it.
Osmeña said he will either have barangay officials sell the rice to the poor consumers in their respective barangays or have City Hall personnel do the job.
Either way, the mayor said that he will allow the opposition to send a representative to make sure that the subsidized rice is sold properly and fairly.
“The methodology as of now is that we will distribute the rice to the barangays through either the barangay officials or we may do it ourselves. If we let the barangay officials distribute it, we will allow the opposition one inspector to see to it that it’s done in order,” he said.
“If we will do it, we will still allow them to have an inspector, but we may or may not let the barangay officials do it,” Osmeña continued.
In his news conference yesterday, the mayor said they will study methods on how the rice can be distributed.
Osmeña could not say yet how many sacks of rice the City will get and when the distribution will start. But he said that there will be a “lot” of rice and “it will happen very soon.”
He said that he will leave it to barangay captains to develop their own method of distribution and decide whom they will prioritize. But if he had his way, Osmeña suggested using the Commission on Elections voters’ list.
Lahug Barangay Captain Mary Ann de los Santos and businessman Jonathan Guardo, of the opposition, said the rice should be distributed by the barangays officials, who they said are in the best position to know who are the poorest of the poor who need government-subsidized rice.
They also believe that there is no need for an inspector and that they trust the barangay officials to be sincere in helping the poor have access to cheaper rice.
“I find it weird that the mayor is politicizing even the NFA rice distribution. I’m sure the barangay officials are sincere and will help their poor constituents,” Guardo told Sun.Star Cebu.
The mayor proposed an inspection by the opposition as a check and balance, “because some barangay captains might also abuse.”
Osmeña said he wants the NFA rice distributed in all 80 barangays but if the supply is not enough, mountain barangays will be prioritized.
The NFA has also allowed local government units to sell government subsidized rice to government employees, but the mayor said this will not be the case in Cebu City.
“I don’t want City Hall employees to be the first to buy NFA rice. I want the people, the poor people, to be the first... The rice crisis situation has not improved, especially in the mountain barangays,” said Osmeña.
He brought to President Arroyo’s attention the rice distribution situation in the upland villages during her visit here last April and complained that NFA rice don’t reach the mountain barangays. (LCR)
