Arroyo visits Quiapo market ahead of SONA

MANILA , Philippines – Hours before her State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Monday visited a wet market in Manila ’s Quiapo district to check on rice prices in the market. GMA’s Flash Report quoted Agriculture Sec. Arthur Yap, who accompanied President Arroyo in the visit, as saying the President was “contented" with the price of the rice being sold at the Quinta Market. Yap said Mrs Arroyo was making the rounds in rice stores in the said market to gather information that she would include in her SONA later in the day. President Arroyo is expected to make her eight SONA at the Batasan Pambansa complex in Quezon City before a joint session of Congress. The Agriculture chief said the price of the staple has been inching its way down in the last two weeks, saying the relatively lower prices of rice could be partly attributed to a much larger rice harvest in the first half of the year. Yap said it was the first time in history that rice production reached 7 metric tons during the first six months of the year. Still, President Arroyo directed the Agriculture department to continue closely monitoring the prices of the staple. Aside from Yap, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim accompanied the Preisdent during her visit to the market, where streamers – bearing the words “Bigas ng bayan laban sa kahirapan (Rice for the nation to fight poverty)" – had been hung. Hours before Mrs Arroyo’s visit, local authorities rushed to spruce up the Quiapo district, especially the Quinta Market. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV