The National Food Authority in Negros Oriental will strictly monitor the delivery of NFA rice to accredited outlets provincewide, to ensure that grains from government warehouses will reach the public, Rolando Lazalita, NFA information officer, said yesterday.

The move is based on an order from the NFA central office, mandating NFA personnel to escorting the transport of NFA rice to accredited outlets such as the Bigasan ni Gloria sa Palengke, Tindahan Natin and Handog sa Parokya, he said.

Lazalita assured that allegations that NFA rice from the warehouses do not reach the accredited outlets, and are sold along the way are true in Negros Oriental.

Monitoring teams will be fielded to implement the Palengke Watch who will oversee accredited outlets. NFA rice costs only P18.25 per kilo while commercial or local rice is now sold for as high as P40, latest data reaching the grains agency revealed.

Consumers can tell the difference between NFA rice and the commercial rice from its looks and taste, Lazalita said, adding that consumers should be careful with the rice they buy.

“If they suspect that they had bought NFA rice sold off as commercial rice, they should bring a sample to the NFA office,” he said.

He assured that complaints will be handled with “utmost confidentiality”. Consumers can also call Tel. Nos. 225-2823, 422-1731 and 225-6522 to air their grievances, he said.

Retailers of the rice agency found to be violating NFA policies regarding their distribution to accredited outlets will also be penalized, Lazarita warned.*RG

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