NFA hits back at critics: Zamboanga rice crisis not our creation

The National Food Authority (NFA) stressed on Sunday that it had nothing to do with the current rice crisis in Zamboanga City.

“‘Yung nangyari sa Zamboanga, hindi ‘yan creation ng NFA, hindi yan creation ng aming administrator. Kami ay nagreresponde lang at umaakyson based on our mandate,” NFA Spokesperson Rex Estoperez said in an interview over Radyo Inquirer.

(What’s happening in Zamboanga is not the creation of the NFA or our administrator. We are just responding and taking action based on our mandate.)

Estoperez was answering the call of some senators for NFA Administrator Jason Aquino to resign over the agency’s alleged incompetence.

“Ngayon ‘yung mga nakikisawsaw hindi namin naiintindihan ang intricacies ng operation ng NFA ay nagsasalita, pero makakatulong kaya ‘yon? Abolishment of NFA is not the solution. Wala naman kaming problema kung ‘yan ang kanilang opinyon, pero tignan muna natin kung saan nagmula ‘yung problema,” the NFA official lamented.

(Now those who are trying to meddle, they don’t understand the intricacies of the NFA’s operations but they’re chiming in; would that be helpful? Abolishment of the NFA is not the solution. We don’t have a problem if that’s their opinion, but let’s look first where the problem is stemming from.)

Several senators argued that NFA failed in lowering the price of commercial rice despite the arrival of rice imports which, they promised, would solve the problems of supply in the country.

Senator Bam Aquino noted that the problem has not been solved even with the importation but instead worsened and eventually resulted in a rice crisis in Zamboanga City.

For his part, Former Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Senator Francis Pangilinan alleged the incompetence of local officials and corrupt practices as the reasons behind the rice crisis in Zamboanga City.

Because of the current situation in Zamboanga City, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said it is but timely to push for the abolition of the NFA for its poor management and failure to deliver the tasks expected of it.

However, Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol defended NFA, stressing that the rice shortage 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. /je

READ: Agriculture chief slams calls for NFA administrator to resign