NFA says it has released more than 75,000 bags of rice for North Cotabato

• NFA said it has released more than 75 thousand bags of rice for distribution in North Cotabato


• Kidapawan was the site of a violent dispersal of farmers affected by drought in the province


• The provincial governor said only 4,000 bags of rice has been distributed to the LGUs

The National Food Authority (NFA) said it has already released more than 75,000 bags of rice to be distributed to poor families and farmers affected by the drought in the province of North Cotabato.

As the Senate hearing on the violent dispersal of farmers who protested in Kidapawan City continues, the NFA revealed to the Senate Committee on Justice that as of April 20, a total of 75,175 bags of rice that each weight 50 kilograms each has already been downloaded to the agencies in charge of distribution.

Of these, 31,050 bags were distributed via the local government units (LGUs) while 44,125 bags were given to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

“Ang NFA hinahawakan ang bigas for government. Ang bumibili ng bigas sa amin ay ang DSWD, LGU and other relief agencies. Sila po ang nagdi-distribute sa kani-kanilang identified beneficiaries. [The NFA holds the rice for the government. The ones who purchase our rice are the DSWD, LGUs, and other relief agencies. They are the ones who distribute to their identified beneficiaries],” explained NFA Assistant Administrator Mercedes Yakapin, as previously quoted by GMA News.

The amount already distributed by the DFA to the relief agencies should have been more than enough to reach the minimum 15,000 bags of rice that the farmers requested from North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza.

Mendoza said the distribution of rice was coursed through the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) due to the ban on local government officials from distributing relief to calamity victims imposed during the ongoing election period.

The provincial government previously reported that all 17 towns of North Cotabato have received 250 bags each allocated to them by the DSWD, which amounts to a total of 4,250 bags distributed. [mjf]

Kicker Daily News