Starting his retirement from the military on October 15, Lieutenant General Roland Bautista, Commanding Gen. Philippine Army, will become the National Food Authority (NFA) administrator.
This was announced by President Rodrigo Duterte in a situation briefing in Tuguegarao, Cagayan.
“In the meantime hindi kita malagay sa Central Bank, pwede ka muna sa NFA siguro to rationalize the idiotic itong, para maplano make it structural,” said Duterte.
Bautista will replace previous NFA administrator Jason Aquino who asked to be relieved from his post.
“In the meantime you have to help the country and rationalize everything there. Keep a level of inventory,” he told Bautista.
Meanwhile, Department of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol has reiterated that there is no rice shortage; but the delay of the delivery of rice has led to spike up its price.
“The price of rice has gone down. It’s stabilizing,” Piñol explained.
It has also been suggested in the briefing that groceries and outlet stores be permitted to sell NFA rice.
“They can carry the NFA rice na mura, kailangan lang ng MOA, so ibig sabihin yung tao natin, di na pipila,” said Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez.
He added that the unavailability of regular well-milled rice has pushed the prices of fancy rice to rise but commercial rice should start at Php39 to Php42.
