A National Food Authority warehouse. File photo by JUNJIE MENDOZA / CEBU DAILY NEWS
Blaming the National Food Authority (NFA) for the state of calamity in Zamboanga City prompted by the rice shortage won’t solve the problem, an official of the agency said on Friday.
Rex Estoperez, Director of Public Affairs and spokesperson of the NFA, said this as senators earlier criticized the government agency for the rice scarcity in Zamboanga City.
Senator Francis Pangilinan called for the dismissal of NFA officials and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian even gave a harsh proposal – abolish the agency altogether.
READ: Senators blame NFA for rice shortage, high prices
“Ang tanong diyan… naintindihan ba nila ang totoong kwento? Naintindihan ba nila yung nangyayari? Dapat ‘yun ang alamin muna nila rather ‘yung magtuturuan o di kaya mag-call for resignation, mag-aabolish,” Estoperez told Radyo Inquirer.
(The question is, do they understand the whole story? Do they understand what is happening? They should know it first rather than pointing at others or calling for resignation or abolition.)
“Hindi ’yan ang solusyon. Hindi ’yan ang permanent solution or immediate solution (That’s not the solution. That’s not the permanent or immediate solution),” he said.
Estoperez, however, said the NFA is not opposed to the proposal of the senators, but maintained that they should first ask the consumers, farmers and other stakeholders’ sentiment on the matter.
“‘Yun ang maghusga kung kailangan ba kami o hindi. Kapag kami kasi ang magsabi, may bias (They should be the ones to judge if we are needed or not. If we are the ones to say it, then we will be a suspicion of bias),” he said.
Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol earlier said the rice shortage has nothing to do with the NFA leadership. He revealed that the root cause was Zamboanga City’s alleged dependence on smuggled rice./ac
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