PUERTO PRINCESA CITY –– The provincial government of Palawan has instructed the municipal mayors to ensure that that they have enough rice supplies that could last up to the end of the year.
“Hungry people will go out of the way. No amount of checkpoint can prevent a hungry stomach,” said Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez, anticipating a spike in the price of polished rice in the following months.
Palawan, being one of the biggest island provinces with huge land areas, is still dependent on rice from other provinces and countries such as Vietnam and Thailand.
“August and September we usually have a shortage of rice supplies. The P2,300 per sack, I am telling you that it will reach up to P3,000 so we have to be secured in our supplies,” he said.
The province is set to receive some 120,000 sacks of rice imported from Isabela province in the following weeks.