THE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday called on legislators to work anew on institutionalizing the availability of half-cup rice options in food establishments to address wastage.
This came after the 340,000 metric tons (MT) of milled rice wastage reported from 2018 to 2019, dropped to 255,000 MT as of November, according to data from the Department of Science and Technology-Food and Nutrition Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).
“Gustong i-revive ni Secretary (Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.) iyong bill na ma-offer ‘yung half rice. Matandaan natin ang mga previous authors nito sa Congress, sa 16th Congress, si President (Ferdinand R.) Marcos Jr., noong senator siya,” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in an interview.
“The Secretary is really interested in helping, reviving and crafting a new bill that hopefully will cater dito sa possibility na magkaroon ng option.”
The reported data on rice wastage could have met the demand of 2.79 million Filipinos in a year, considering around 37,000 MT of daily milled rice requirement, according to the PhilRice.
De Mesa said Filipinos who want half-cup rice “for whatever reason” must not be obliged to consume a full cup of rice in food establishments.
“Kasi pag binigay mo sa kanya one cup rice agad at hindi niya kayang ubusin, ano na ‘yun? Automatic wastage na ‘yung kalahati. Not unlike kung merong opportunity na ma-offer sa kanya ‘yung half rice,” he added.
To date, three lawmakers lobbied for the revival of the half-cup rice bill — Quezon 4th District Rep. Keith Micah Tan, AGAP Party-list Rep. Nicanor Briones and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin.
Besides pushing for the half-cup rice option, De Mesa said Filipinos can access alternative carbohydrates like sweet potato and corn. (PNA)
