CEBU, Philippines - The Grain Retailers Confederation of the Philippines-Cebu has denied allegations that the group is selling the cheap National Food Authority rice only to commercial rice retailers.
Grecon chairman Semy Cabuenas said that commodity is available to anyone.
“Naa gyu’y daghang NFA, dali lang mahurot kay dili nato ma-control ang mamalitay. For example diha sa Tabunok Public Market, magbalik-balik na ang mga tawo,” said Cabuenas, who owns an NFA-accredited rice store in Tabunok Public Market.
Cabuenas admitted that unscrupulous traders may have taken advantage by buying bulk of the supply and hoard it for commercial purposes. To address the problem, Cabuenas said the group has decided to bring the goods to the barangay residents.
Being a resident and a former councilor of Talisay City, Cabuenas yesterday brought the NFA rolling store to Barangays Pooc and Poblacion to sell the cheap rice to the poor.
“Ni-request gyud mi sa NFA nga amo nalang dad-on ang bugas sa katawhan para sigurado gyud nga maabot nila. Para pud di mi ma-issue nga ang mga commercial rice retailers ra among gibaligyaan,” he said.
Cabuenas said the NFA rice with 25 percent broken grains is still sold at P27 a kilo while the one with less broken grains can be bought for P32 per kilo.
The Grecon chairman said this week they are set to visit other barangays in Talisay City.
Cabuenas said they will continue doing it while they still have the supply. He also encourages the public, especially those who can barely afford the commercial rice, which is priced at P44 and up per kilo, to visit any NFA-accredited rice retailers to avail of the cheap rice.
“Naa man gyud na, imposible wa. Naa lang siguro’y panahon nga mahutdan. Pero og magkugi lang sila og adto sa mga accredited retailers, naa na,” he said.
Some NFA rice retailers were earlier accused of forcing customers to buy commercial rice before they are allowed to purchase the cheap rice.
Reports also had it that the cheap rice was no longer readily available to the poor as this was already sold to commercial rice retailers to be mixed with the commercial rice sold at a higher price. – (FREEMAN)