Friday, June 13, 2008 Sara reminds NFA of role to people By Grace L. Plata
ACTING Mayor Sara Z. Duterte, in mild tones, warned the National Food Authority (NFA) to ensure it is truly working to make rice more accessible to Dabawenyos.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Southeastern Mindanao raided seven NFA warehouses at the privately owned Tefasco wharf in Barangay Ilang, Davao City on Tuesday night for repacking NFA rice.
"I just hope that what they are doing would benefit the people of Davao, as what they promised. If they are liable, charges should be filed," Duterte said Thursday.
The young Duterte has been adamant in solving the rice crisis besieging the city to the extent of calling for a special session of the Davao City Council to discuss the matter and propose solutions.
Councilor Nilo Abellera, on the other hand, said he appreciates the NBI's latest achievement saying this is what the Davao City Council aims to know.
This is a turnaround for Abellera as during Tuesday's session, he lambasted the NBI for "not doing (its) job" in pinpointing and apprehending hoarders in the city despite reports of such.
The NFA, however, defended the operation, saying there was nothing illegal in it since what was repacked was the Thai commercial rice and it was done in preparation for its distribution to outlets.
"The purpose of the repacking is in order to differentiate the P35 variety from all the other NFA rice varieties being sold," NFA Regional Manager Lorenzo Camayang said in an earlier phone interview with Sun.Star.
NFA rice outlets are selling the P18.25 per kilo Vietnam rice, P25 per kilo Thailand rice of the commercial grade, and the P35 per kilo Thailand rice called the NFA special rice.
Only the NFA outlets in Bankerohan, Agdao, Toril, and Calinan will be selling the Thailand variety rice at P35 per kilo.
Davao City is the first city where the high-grade Thai rice will be released in order to pull down the high price of rice.
"After it has been released, the traders are escorted by NFA personnel to their stores," Camayang said.
Camayang said they are releasing the P35 per kilo variety of rice in order to pull down the prices of commercial rice here after the commercial prices breached the P50 per kilo mark.
NBI-Semro spokesperson, lawyer Arcelito C. Albao, said there was not a single document presented during their inspection that would legalize the operation.
Militant groups, meanwhile, call on the City Government to investigate the case, noting NBI's allegation of illegal activities.
"NFA's statement that the re-sacking of NFA rice is within the bound of the law and it is being done in preparation of an auction to stabilize market prices of commercial rice is completely illogical," Jeppie Ramada, regional secretary general of Bayan, said in a statement.
Bayan said that NFA's move would not stabilize the price of commercial rice as they claim.
"The government is going against its declarations of having agricultural programs that are meant to vitalize self-sufficiency when in fact they are intensifying dependence on rice importation," Ramada said. (GLP/With press release)
