Zamboanga City council seeks calamity declaration over rice shortage

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — The Zamboanga City council has approved a resolution recommending the delaration of a state of calamity because of a lack of rice.

The city approved the resolution in an advance council session after a dialogue with the National Food Authority, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Agriculture and other related agencies over a shortage of commercial rice that has seen prices rise to P60 to P70 per kilogram.

The resolution, which will be forwarded to Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar for approval will put price freezes on basic commodities like rice. 

Salazar, who chairs the local price council, has suggested the imposition of a price ceiling on commercial rice during the dialogue.

Rep. Celso Lobregat pushed for the local government to concentrate on rice productivity and to institutionalize its food security program to address shortages.

Lobregat said the declaration of a state of calamity will not resolve the scarcity of rice unless issues that led to the shortage and to high prices are also addressed.

"The declaration of a state of calamity in the city is an admission that there is really something wrong, this is an economic issue which affects the poorest of the poor. That's why, as an official of the government, I have to initiate moves to address the present economic crisis,” Lobregat said on local radio.
 
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, who made an emergency inspection of Zamboanga City last week, disclosed the rice shortage was an effect of a reliance on smuggled rice. Piñol also urged the city to adopt a food security program to address problems with supply.