THE National Food Authority (NFA) in Negros Occidental is capable of immediately supplying rice among areas in the province to be affected by the possible onslaught of Typhoon Ompong, its top official said.
Frisco Canoy, provincial manager of NFA-Negros Occidental, told SunStar Bacolod on Thursday that supply of P27 per kilogram government rice during calamities is a priority of the agency.
Canoy said the NFA plays as "relief agency" during disasters, thus, it should serve affected areas first over market retail outlets regularly receiving allocations.
"The mandate among provincial offices of NFA is to have an operation center in cases of calamities," he said, adding that "for Negros Occidental, we already have personnel in place so the center can be activated anytime."
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Thursday Ompong, with international name "Mangkhut" is aiming towards the northern tip of Luzon and expected to make landfall on Saturday.
The state weather bureau, in a report, said Ompong will be the strongest typhoon this year, peaking at gusts of up to 270 kilometers per hour as of yesterday before easing to still-dangerous velocities as it approaches land.
As of Thursday’s inventory of NFA-Negros Occidental showed that the remaining buffer stocks for the province are almost 16,000 bags from 80,000 bags last July.
Canoy said the volume level is still "enough and safe" to supply affected areas if Ompong hits the province.
The operation center has personnel serving agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as well as local government units (LGUs), and groups like Philippine Red Cross who will be needing supply anytime, Canoy said.
"We are making sure that we will have remaining buffer stocks until the new import allocation arrives especially amid the impending calamity," he said.
Canoy added that "with the current situation, we are capable of providing possible needs during relief operation.”