No fake rice in Ilocos Norte – NFA

By Cherry Joy D. Garma and Debroah Faith G. Pajarillo

LAOAG CITY, June 23 — The National Food Authority provincial office here claimed that there were no reports of fake rice being sold and distributed in Ilocos Norte province.

“Wala, zero case talaga. Kasi naman, there’s no such thing as fake rice (None, there is really a zero case. It is because there’s no such thing as fake rice),” Elizabeth Kai, acting provincial manager of NFA Ilocos Norte, said.

Kai’s statement supports NFA’s press release on June 21 wherein the grain agency assured the public that “there is no proof that fake rice is being sold in Philippine markets.”

Kai guaranteed that NFA Ilocos has a good warehouse keeping system to preserve rice and ensure the public that NFA rice supplies are all good quality rice.

“Rest assured, ang NFA, walang problema sa fake rice. Tunay na bigas ang binebenta namin. Sobrang istrikto pa naman kami sa quality control, talagang minomonitor namin ‘yan (Rest assured, the NFA has no problem with fake rice. We sell genuine rice. We are in fact strict in quality control, we really monitor that),” she said.

Aside from zero fake rice case in the province, Kai stated that there are no cases of rice adulteration, overprice selling of rice, or problems in rice supply in Ilocos Norte.

“Wala naman [ganitong issues] kasi our rapport with the stakeholders, talagang close. We conduct Ugnayan meetings, ‘yung every quarter tinatawag namin sila, we ask them their issues and concerns, but most importantly, even in our monitoring visits, we remind them na bawal ang ganito ganyan (We do not encounter these issues because our rapport with the stakeholders is really close. We conduct meetings, monitoring visits, we remind them of prohibited acts they need to avoid),” said Kai.

The NFA in Ilocos Norte together with other NFA field offices across the country have been instructed to have their daily monitoring in the public markets even before the fake rice issuebroke out.

The agency continues to remind the public to remain vigilant of alleged fake rice, but also assures them there is no need for panic.
Kai said that NFA has been making efforts to inform the public through radio, social media, and press releases that there is no fake rice in the country. (Cherry Joy D. Garma and Debroah Faith G. Pajarillo/PIA1-Ilocos Norte)