Three senators urged in separate statements yesterday the Arroyo administration to initiate bold moves to address the rice crisis.

Senator Loren Legarda said the government should push new strategies for the country to become rice self-sufficient in two to three months.

Legarda said that, since rice is an extremely sensitive political commodity, a big surge in its price is bound to spur social unrest and political instability.

She added that the only way for the country to cope with the nearing rice scarcity is to be self-reliant in a short time, which is perfectly achievable.

Senator Manuel Roxas II, for his part, said the Arroyo administration should not belittle the rice crisis and should get real in facing the problem.

"The government is in denial. Merong krisis sa pagkain (There is food crisis),” he said in a statement.

Roxas said Economy 101 would tell that prices rise if the supply is tight.  Regular-milled rice is now priced at P24 to P26 per kilo from the previous P20 to P22, he noted.

He said the government's statement is contradictory because while declaring that there is no rice shortage, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is saying prices would increase.

“If there is no shortage, why will prices go up? Is it now the policy of government to make retail prices go up?” Roxas asked.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the government should intensify rice production instead of telling the people to reduce their rice consumption.

He warned Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap against further suggesting that Filipinos cut down their rice consumption because such reckless statement by an administration official can incite public anger or uprising.

Yap’ suggestion, the senator said, contradicts his claim that there is no rice shortage.

Pimentel said the National Food Authority should beef up its rice stockpile by giving priority to the procurement of rice from local farmers, instead of relying too much on imports.

Local farmers are always complaining that they are being ignored by the NFA in its rice procurement in favor of imports that only benefit the farmers from rice-exporting neighboring countries, he added.

Moreover, Roxas said measures to be taken to address the rice crisis can be done at the local level.

He suggested that local government units should immediately release calamity funds for the purpose of assisting the farmers with seeds, fertilizers and pesticides to ensure that the next harvest is as bountiful as possible.

Roxas also said that  LGUs should be directed to establish a food security early warning mechanism, particularly in the barangays, to ensure targeted distribution of rice especially to children and the elderly.*

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