The National Food Authority (NFA) has assured that it is prepared to roll out emergency measures should the “Big One” hit the country.
NFA Administrator Renan B. Dalisay assured the public that the food agency is prepared should a strong earthquake happen and said it has enough rice stocks in its depositories.
“As of July 23, the NFA has a national inventory recorded at 15.5 million 50-kilo bags, or 775,165 metric tons [MT], which can last for 25 days based on the national daily consumption requirement of 632,620 bags, or 31,631 MT,” Dalisay said.
The administrator said he has instructed NFA’s field officials nationwide to be alert and prepare for the so-called Big One.
Meanwhile, Dalisay said he will visit Dagupan City in Pangasinan to assess the preparedness of the area. He said Dagupan City suffered severely during the 1990 earthquake, which hit Central and Northern Luzon.
An earthquake drill will also be conducted in a warehouse in Binalonan, Pangasinan. This will include a simulation of how rice are released to local government units (LGUs) and relief agencies.
Dalisay said the NFA sells rice on credit to LGUs for relief operations during calamities or emergency situations. The rice loan is due 15 days from the date of the issuance of rice.
The NFA said it also has a memorandum of agreement with the Department of Social Welfare and Development to sell rice on credit for disaster relief and emergency operations.
The food agency also has an operations center in Quezon City, with counterparts in field offices nationwide. These centers are activated immediately once an emergency occurs.
Dalisay said he will also visit Pampanga and Tarlac to check their readiness for disasters, and to monitor the prices of commercial rice that has “significantly” gone down.
He said he has been going around the country to make sure that NFA rice is “available, accessible and
affordable” to the public.
The Big One refers to a post-earthquake scenenario that could hit the country at a 7.2 magnitude. It is said that the earthquake of this magnitude could kill thousands of residents and destroy buildings in Metro Manila.
Government and private offices, including the NFA, joined a simultaneous earthquake drill in Metro Manila on Thursday.