Thursday, May 01, 2008 Gov’t to lift truck ban on food cargo
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the government will lift the truck ban on food cargo to speed up the distribution of food in Metro Manila.
Arroyo made the announcement in a speech at the conclusion of the launching of the Central Philippines Nautical Highway (CPNH) in Cagayan de Oro City last Wednesday.
“We also agreed in the Cabinet meeting that we will remove the truck ban on food cargo,” she said.
This means the truck ban imposed by local government units (LGUs) of Metro Manila will no longer apply to those carrying food stuff.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said Arroyo had met with food manufacturers regarding the food situation in Metro Manila and that the truck ban was one of the things raised by the food producers.
Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral, in an ambush interview, said her department is verifying the number of poor families in Metro Manila that was submitted by the mayors of the 17 cities and municipalities that could be entitled to access cards.
Cabral said the list showed that there were 700,000 poor families in the metropolis, which she said is a lot more than the 187,000 families in the survey of the National Statistics Office (NSO) who are living below the poverty line, which is defined as having a monthly income of P5,000 or less.
She said the verification would be finished in two weeks, at which time the access cards would be made available.
She said an access card would entitle a family to buy two kilos of the P18.25 per kilo rice per day, which she said is the average consumption of a family of five.
The social welfare chief assured that the P18.25 rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) is still available in public markets, Tindahan Natin outlets, and Bigasan sa Parokya.
She said it is not yet certain how long the subsidy would last because President Arroyo would still have to consider many things such as the prices of rice and the incidence of poverty. She also said it is not yet certain whether the system of giving out access cards would be expanded to other areas. (JMR/Sunnex)
