Zamboanga city council seeks compensation for rice shortage
Roel Pareño (philstar.com) – August 21, 2018 – 5:33 PM
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The Zamboanga City Council has adopted a resolution that recommends the deletion of a state of disaster due to a lack of rice.
The city approved the resolution at a previous Council meeting after a dialogue with the National Food Authority, the Office for Reduction of urban risk reduction, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and other related bodies due to a shortage of commercial rice that has seen prices rise to P60 to P70 per kilogram.
The resolution, which will be presented to Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar for approval, will include freezing of the prices of basic products such as rice.
Salazar, who chairs the local price council, has proposed to set a price ceiling for commercial rice during the dialogue.
Rep. Celso Lobregat urged the local government to focus on rice productivity and to institutionalize its food security program to address shortages.
Lobregat said that the declaration of a state of disaster will not solve the shortage of rice unless there are problems that have led to the shortage and high prices.
"The declaration of a state of disaster in the city is a recognition that something is really wrong, this is an economic issue affecting the poorest of the poor, so as an official of the government I have to initiate initiatives to address the current economic crisis, & # 39; Lobregat said on the local radio.
Agricultural Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, who last week carried out an emergency inspection of Zamboanga City, revealed that the shortage of rice was due to a dependence on smuggled rice. Piñol also urged the city to adopt a food security program to tackle delivery problems.
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