NFA to LGUs: Avail of rice credit program, don't wait for calamity

CEBU, Philippines – The National Food Authority regional office 7 is calling all local government units, especially in Cebu province, to avail now of the rice credit program without waiting for any emergencies to come.

The NFA is campaigning to different LGUs to make use of the program which is intended for emergency purposes. One of the purposes is for stockpiling in preparation for any disaster and calamities.

NFA-7 regional director Edgar Bentulan said they can release the bags of rice within 10 minutes upon request as long as the documents are complete.

The LGU only needs to enter into a memorandum of agreement with the NFA to avail of the program.

Bentulan cited an incident in Iloilo wherein a mayor was refused by him when the latter wanted to avail of the program after a calamity because of the absence of MOA.

Bentulan explained that he does not want to be blamed and lambasted by the media if an LGU is not able to avail of the rice program.

Although not compulsory for LGUs to enter a MOA, Bentulan said, "it is just like a license to credit rice during disasters."

The credit is payable within 15 days time from release of the bags of rice enough for the concerned LGU to process payment and the issuance of check.

The program was introduced by NFA to Governor Gwendolyn Garcia earlier this month prompting the governor to ask the Provincial Board to pass a resolution authorizing her to enter a MOA with the NFA for the province to avail of the program.

However, Vice-Governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr. suspects that the rice will be used in the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. Garcia denied the accusations and described it as "cheap" political gimmick.

Sanchez signed the resolution on the rice-for-credit scheme a week after it was passed by PB saying he only wanted to ensure the rice-on-credit scheme won't be used for the barangay elections.

Garcia and Sanchez belong to different political parties and have been openly at odds since last year.

Speaking before the Provincial Development Council meeting last Monday, Bentulan said that they offered the program to LGUs solely for distribution to victims of calamities and for other emergency purposes and not because of the upcoming elections.

Bentulan explained that the program is intended to assist restoration and rehabilitation efforts in an event of a disaster.

Once NFA and the different LGUs sign a formal memorandum of agreement, a province can avail of up to 5,000 bags while a city can avail of up to 2,000 bags. A municipality, meanwhile, can avail of up to 1,000 bags. (FREEMAN)