THE National Food Authority (NFA) on Saturday, August 11, found some warehouses in Zamboanga City empty while others had limited stocks, raising concerns of a shortage in the city.
Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar joined the inspection team led by NFA assistant regional director Rommel Manatad.
Among those inspected were the warehouses located in Sta. Maria, Zone IV and Tetuan.
Salazar said NFA is expected to release rice stocks on Monday, August 13, but these are not sufficient to meet the city’s requirements.
The low supply has pushed prices up, with rice fetching P42 to P53 per kilo. Salazar stressed that this is not acceptable.
Manatad said NFA-Zamboanga received a shipment of 120,000 bags of rice, but only 40,000 bags were allotted for Zamboanga City. Each bag contains 50 kilos.
The provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur will get a total of 50,000 bags while the remaining 30,000 will be shipped to Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). (SunStar Philippines)