Metro Manila mayors pledged their support to the Department of Agriculture (DA) in broadening its affordable rice distribution network, providing vulnerable communities with faster access to reasonably-priced staple food.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. met with the Metro Manila Council (MMC) Thursday to discuss strategies for the distribution of National Food Authority (NFA) rice stocks.
“We are grateful to the DA for allowing us to participate in this initiative. Our role is to ensure that affordable rice reaches communities without delay. Metro Manila LGUs are ready to bridge this gap,” said MMC president and San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora.
Zamora and MMDA chairman Romando Artes expressed their commitment to the program.
As part of the KADIWA ng Pangulo’s Rice-for-All program, the initiative offers NFA rice at an affordable P38 per kilogram, targeting low-income households. The NFA holds 300,000 metric tons of rice in its inventory.
“This is about serving the people, not politics,” Tiu-Laurel said, addressing concerns over potential misuse of rice distribution by local officials and assuring the public that the program would remain non-political.
Tiu Laurel also underscored the importance of moving existing rice stocks to make room for the upcoming harvest in February.
“By clearing storage space now, we ensure fair prices for farmers’ palay when the new harvest comes in,” he said.
