Rice supply sufficient despite 'Pedring' devastation

MANILA, Philippines - An official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) yesterday assured the public of sufficient rice supply despite the massive devastation brought by typhoon “Pedring” in rice-producing provinces in Luzon.

“The stock of NFA (National Food Authority) was more than sufficient to cover the rainy days… right now we have a very comfortable balance to last until the end of the year,” DA undersecretary for operations Joel Rudinas said.

Rudinas said the NFA would still assess palay damage from Pedring, which lashed Northern Luzon last week, leaving 55 persons dead and over P7-billion worth of damage to agriculture.

“As far as the basic staple is concerned, we have adequate stocks,” he said.

Rudinas also said they are now sourcing vegetables from provinces that were not severely affected by the recent typhoons.

“As far as other commodities like vegetables, we are now sourcing vegetables from Laguna, Quezon, Camarines Sur, as well as Visayas and Mindanao,” he said.

“So they are the ones supplying us substantial volume of pinakbet vegetables,” Rudinas said, referring to the popular Ilocano dish of mixed vegetables.

Rudinas said he expects the prices of vegetables to go down as commodities from the Visayas and Mindanao reach the markets in Metro Manila.

Among the provinces badly hit by Pedring are the major rice producing provinces of Isabela, Cagayan, and Nueva Ecija.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Central Luzon said typhoons Pedring and “Quiel” had caused some P6.4 billion in damage to agriculture in the region.

OCD assistant director Nigel Lontoc said some P415.1-million worth of infrastructure in Central Luzon was also damaged. This figure is expected to increase as more reports from the field come in.

Lontoc said that the total agricultural damage wrought by the two typhoons was placed at P6,425,416,874.

He said that of this amount, damage to rice and corn alone stood at P6,236,565,676, while losses in livestock and fisheries were estimated at P188,851,197.

Sen. Manuel Villar Jr., meanwhile, proposed that businessmen found to be taking advantage of disaster-stricken customers by jacking up prices of essential goods be penalized.

Villar filed Senate Bill 1306 that prohibits price gouging, or the charging of excessive prices, for certain goods and services in areas affected by major disasters.

Villar said he filed the bill in reaction to reports that bottled water was sold for as high as P140 in flooded areas in Bulacan.

Villar sought to prohibit price gouging of basic goods and services in typhoon and calamity stricken areas.

Under the bill, no supplier shall provide, or offer to provide, any consumer good or service in an affected area at an excessive price during the 180-day period after the declaration of a major disaster by the President. – With Ding Cervantes, Christina Mendez