Dealers in San Juan run out of NFA rice - report

MANILA, Philippines - Amid the National Food Authority (NFA)'s insistence that there are enough rice stocks, some NFA rice dealers in San Juan City were forced to close after their supplies ran out. Radio dzBB's Sam Nielsen reported that at least three dealers in the city who were forced to close their outlets said they had no idea when the next supply run will come. They said their last delivery of 50 sacks quickly ran out, and they have "no idea" when the next NFA delivery will come. Earlier, the NFA said it is pulling out its P18.25-per-kilo stocks from markets and planning to distribute them to food-poor communities via village halls. In Quezon City, meanwhile, members of militant group Anakpawis picketed the NFA office, saying the three-kilo rations they got will not last one week. Radio dzBB's Mao dela Cruz reported that the militants gave a letter to the NFA during their picket. In their letter, they said that if the NFA cannot allow them to get five kilos of rice, they should at least make sure their rolling stores have more frequent trips to poor communities. Earlier, militants held an early-morning noise barrage at the boundary of Manila and Quezon City, urging government to act immediately to address a looming rice crisis. Members of the Kilusan Para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD) lined the Mabuhay Rotonda wearing rice sacks to dramatize their plight. The militants, who were to march to Trabajo market in Sampaloc at 8 a.m., called for price control and other immediate measures to address the situation. In Manila, meanwhile, dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported that the National Food Authority (NFA) had to start selling rice imported from the United States. The NFA reportedly ran out of rice from Vietnam, which sells for P18.25 a kilo. The NFA's US rice sells for P25 a kilo. However, this did not stop residents from continuing to line up at the NFA Metro Manila head office along United Nations Avenue. - GMANews.TV