San Juan City first to sell NFA rice after food emergency is declared

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Agriculture chief Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. says they are leaving it up to local government heads how to distribute the rice as the DA 'cannot micromanage'

MANILA, Philippines – San Juan City started selling rice stocks from the National Food Authority (NFA) on Monday, February 24, the first city to do so after the Department of Agriculture (DA) declared a food security emergency on rice.

“Tayo po ang nauna sa buong Pilipinas na magbenta ng ganito pong kamura na bigas,” said San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora in a live video post on Monday. “Ito po ay P1,650 kada 50 kilo na sako o katumbas na P33 per kilo.”

(We are the first in the Philippines to sell rice this cheap. This is P1,650 per 50 kilos or sack, equivalent to P33 per kilo.)

Under a food emergency, declared last February 3, the DA plans to sell 150,000 metric tons of NFA rice stocks to local governments — to free up NFA warehouses in time for the palay harvest season and to push down rice prices in the market. (READ: DA to release NFA rice in Metro Manila, Camarines Sur)

The city is currently selling one sack per person, but Zamora said they may repack NFA rice into five kilos. The initial batch of 1,000 sacks of NFA rice was sold out already, Zamora said, due to their pre-registration held since last week.

“Hindi na ho natin kakayanin ‘yung one, two, or three kilos kasi medyo magiging magulo ho ‘yun dahil iba’t-ibang klaseng packaging po ang mangyayari kung sakaling iba-iba rin ang timbang,” the mayor said.

(We won’t be able to do one, two, or three kilos because that would be confusing due to different types of packaging and different weights.)

DA chief Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said they are leaving it up to local government heads how to distribute the rice as the DA “cannot micromanage.”

“Sa ngayon kasi sa rami ng stocks ng NFA na kailangan ma-move out, sa ngayon walang limit, parang race to finish muna ‘yung ating programa,” said Laurel on Monday.

(Currently because of the volume of NFA rice that needs to be moved out, there is no limit, our program is like a race to finish.)

There were 300,000 metric tons of rice in NFA warehouses prior to the declaration of the food emergency. Critics are calling the emergency contrived or manufactured given that rice prices in the global market are already dropping. There’s also the factor of the approaching 2025 midterm polls.

The declaration is part of a spate of efforts that the Philippine government has been pursuing since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. promised P20/kilo of rice during the presidential campaign. The government cut down tariffs of imported rice from 35% to 15%, then eventually set a maximum suggested retail price.

Other Metro Manila cities and provinces are set to follow suit, but the DA has yet to specify which cities they are already in talks with for NFA rice distribution.

The distribution of cheap rice to local governments is happening a month before the campaign period for local elections starts on March 28. Zamora, who is also the head of the Metro Manila Council, told reporters last week that the sale of NFA rice will not be used for electioneering. – Rappler.com