Agriculture chief slams calls for NFA administrator to resign

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol slammed on Thursday calls for National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Jason Aquino to resign amid the ongoing rice crisis in Zamboanga City.

Piñol said the rice shortage in the city has nothing to do with the NFA leadership, stressing that it was caused by Zamboanga City’s dependence on smuggled rice.

“It is a knee-jerk reaction to the problem that has nothing to do with whoever sits in the NFA; it has something to do with illegal activity. Zamboanga has for so long depended on smuggled rice,” Piñol said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel.

“Zamboanga, when the illegal activity was stopped, they found out the taps went dry, and this happened at the time when NFA rice delivery was delayed, during the lean months. I don’t think call for resignation of NFA head is the action to be done right now,” he added.

Zamboanga City has been placed under state of calamity due to rice shortage triggered by unabated increase in prices of commercial rice sold in public markets.

READ: Zamboanga City under state of calamity due to rice shortage

The crisis prompted senators to denounce the NFA for its alleged incompetence.

Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan called for a Senate investigation into the crisis, questioning how a rice shortage escalated in “the land of plenty” under the first Mindanaoan president, Rodrigo Duterte.

For his part, Senator Bam Aquino pressed for the resignation of the NFA Administrator over the agency’s failure to lower the prices of rice in the market and curb the rice shortage in Zamboanga City. /ee

READ: Bam Aquino calls for NFA chief’s resignation amid Zambo rice crisis