NEGROS Occidental second district Board Member Salvador Escalante said Tuesday that he will push for an investigation through a resolution on the alleged rice hoarding in the province that causes the increase in the prices of rice.

"There are reports that rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) is being mixed with commercial rice and are sold in southern Negros Occidental. The same thing could also be happening in other parts of the province," he said.

Escalante said that he will also request the local NFA office to provide the Capitol a list of all its accredited dealers in the province.

"I don't even know who are the NFA dealers in Cadiz City. If there are hoarders, they may just be minimal compared to those based in Bacolod," he added.

Escalante pointed out that under the law, local government units should immediately activate their local price monitoring councils when there is a sudden increase in prices of basic commodities especially rice.

He added that NFA rice should only be sold in accredited NFA stores.

Escalante also said that the rice sufficiency of Negros Occidental is already at the 90 percent level.

Rice milling is fast in the province, resulting in a stable supply of rice, he added.