Palace wants NFA Council to speak solely on rice

President Duterte has barred National Food Authority (NFA) administrator Jason Aquino from speaking about the Philippines’ rice supply, saying his recent statements had caused panic that may have increased the price of the staple.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said all information about the country’s rice supply situation would come from the NFA Council, an interagency body led by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco.

“There was an acknowledgement that statements made by the NFA administrator caused panic, which probably caused prices to rise. There was some disagreement on the figures presented yesterday by the NFA Council, but ultimately it was agreed that there is no rice shortage,” Roque said, noting that rice supply was discussed during last Monday’s Cabinet meeting.

“That was why the President said that henceforth all information on the country’s rice supply must emanate from the NFA Council,” he added.

Roque said Aquino’s claim that the rice supply stocked by the NFA is only good for about one and a half days was misleading.

“The 1.5 day stockpile is if we did not have any other source of rice other than NFA. Meaning, if we only had NFA in our possession, we would have 1.5 days worth of supply. But the reality, of course, is that NFA constitutes a minority of our rice supply,” Roque said.

“Bulk of our rice supply consist of commercial rice,” he added.

Roque said Duterte has ordered Aquino to attend the next Cabinet cluster meeting next month.

Aquino told lawmakers last month that the remaining rice supply stocked by the NFA is just equivalent to about one and a half days. But the NFA chief clarified that the grains agency is not the only source of rice in the country, noting that there are also commercial and household stocks.

The NFA Council has approved the importation of 250,000 metric tons of rice to augment the grains agency’s buffer stock.

The NFA is required to have a buffer stock good for at least 15 days during harvest season and a 30-day buffer during the lean months of July to September.

Evasco has called for the filing of economic sabotage charges against rice hoarders and asked the NFA to be more proactive in monitoring the warehouses managed by traders.