PB summons NFA on rice shortage

The Cebu Provincial Board (PB) has invited the National Food Authority (NFA) to join its session on Monday to shed light on the reported rice shortage in the region.

Vice Governor Agnes Magpale said some programs of the provincial government have been affected by the rice shortage, since the provincial government has also run out of NFA rice. In effect, the "Halad ni Lolo ug Lola" program of the provincial government has been halted since February, since the Capitol can no longer give away their remaining NFA rice supply.

Aside from rice, the program also gives canned goods, noodles, milk, and coffee to their beneficiaries – the senior citizens.

The last distribution they had was in the town of Badian on February 19.

Magpale said the Capitol has a buffer stock for the said project. However, it has been utilized by the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC).

The vice governor added that stopping the program for the senior citizens was a tough call but the provincial government needed to prioritize the food for the inmates.

According to CPDRC Acting Warden Roberto Legaspi, the jail facility ran out of NFA rice last February 12.

To address this, the Capitol purchased commercial rice, which the inmates have been using since February 13. According to Provincial General Services Office Head Jone Sepe, the provincial government has procured a total of 1,080 sacks of rice worth P2.8 million in February through a negotiated purchase.

The stock was utilized starting the second week of February and is expected to last until March 11.

He added that the NFA assured that their office can supply rice to the Capitol again by June 2018.

Since it is still three months away, Sepe said that another bidding is scheduled, which will enable the provincial government to purchase 2,730 sacks of commercial rice that can cover the period while waiting for the resumption of the supply from the NFA.