Duterte on fears of a rice shortage: ‘Marami namang bigas’

President Rodrigo Duterte has allayed concerns of a rice shortage that is being blamed for the spike in prices of the commodity in some parts of the country.

Speaking before the Filipino community in Israel on Sunday evening (early Monday morning in Manila), Duterte said the Philippines has an ample supply of rice.

“Ngayon sinasabi nila na may shortage daw ng bigas. Eh marami namang bigas, paparating pa nga dito eh. Ngayon sumobra nga,” Duterte said.

“Those are politics. I would like to remind you that I won because of the vote of the Filipino.”

Some lawmakers have been calling for the resignation of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol and National Food Authority Administrator Jason Aquino over alleged incompetence in dealing with the country’s rice situation with Zamboanga City and Basilan now under a state of calamity as rice prices soared to as high as P70-P80 per kilo.

Thousands of sacks of imported rice docked at the Subic and Albay ports were also discovered to have been infested with rice weevils or "bukbok.”

Piñol has also drawn criticism for supposedly proposing for the legalization of rice smuggling to address the supply issues in Zamboanga-Basilan-Sulu-Tawi-Tawi (Zambasulta) region as most people in the area have been dependent on smuggled rice.

Duterte, however, opposed the idea as this would only bring turmoil in the market. 

He also dismissed calls to fire Piñol and Aquino, saying they did not commit any serious offense and that the situation calls for improvement on laws governing rice.

Piñol thanked Duterte for his continued trust and confidence. —KG, GMA News