Villar says suggestion on unli-rice promos just an ‘expression of concern’

After her name trended on Twitter over her suggestion to ban unlimited rice promos, Senator Cynthia Villar on Thursday clarified that she was not planning to file a bill that would stop the serving of unli rice in restaurants and other food establishments.

Villar, chairperson of the Senate agriculture committee, said she merely “voiced out” her concern on the Filipinos’ consumption of rice.

“I am not planning to make a law banning ‘unli rice,’ not at all.  I just voiced out my concern that eating too much rice is one of the main causes of high blood sugar that leads to diabetes,” Villar said in a statement.

“But, of course, I cannot prevent people from eating unlimited amount of rice. It is their choice. It was just a genuine expression of concern on my part,” she said.

According to Villar, it would really be difficult to stop Filipinos from eating the staple food. But to decrease health risks, cutting down on rice is still a good idea.

According to her, eating a plate of white rice everyday increases the risk of developing diabetes by 11 percent.

On Tuesday, Villar’s committee conducted a Senate probe on the government’s rice importation policy, as well as the country’s rice production and consumption.

During the hearing, she told resource persons present that the promo of restaurants offering unlimited rice to its customers should be banned, suggesting instead the consumption of vegetables.

Aside from the supposed health benefits of cutting down on rice consumption, she said the move would also help the government achieve its rice self-sufficiency target.

“Ipagbawal na yang unlimited rice, masama 'yan. Pagbawal na natin yang unlimited rice kasi nagkakasakit tayo gawa ng unlimited rice na 'yan. We should learn how to eat vegetables,” she said.

Present during the hearing were representatives from the Department of Agriculture, National Food Authority (NFA), and Cabinet Secretary Leoncio “Jun” Evasco, chair of the NFA council.

Villar also encouraged the consumption of the healthier brown rice, instead of well-milled rice, during the hearing.

“We should not encourage well-milled rice. Kung puwedeng brown rice, brown rice na lang. Kasi pag kinain mo, mabigat sa tiyan, konti lang nakakain mo,” she said.

By Wednesday night, Villar was among the Top 5 trending topics on Twitter, thanks to Filipino netizens fond of availing "unli rice" promos of restaurants and fastfood chains.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/hashtag/content/614584/sen-cynthia-villar-trends-on-twitter-after-saying-unlimited-rice-promos-must-be-banned/story/

A quick-witted netizen made a parody account of Mang Inasal, and replied to a GMA News tweet, prompting others to do the same. It resulted in a funny thread of parody restaurant accounts.

Villar has earlier urged the government departments such as the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department of Health (DOH) to align their programs in order to promote better nutrition and health among the young Filipinos. — MDM, GMA News