Bohol

More cheap National Food Authority (NFA) rice and ready Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) pension claims, both necessities in crisis time, are top concerns that regional and Bohol officials will address in the coming days.

Serious evaluation of local government spending, upgrading of police capability and execution of impact infrastructure works are also marked with preference.

Their need to be prioritized was made clear in a consultative conference in Balilihan on Tuesday jointly initiated by Reps. Edgar Chatto, Roberto Cajes and Adam Relson Jala, who all agreed on more collaboration in service areas that matter most to people.

NFA Regional Director Danilo Bonabon said his agency is prepared to flood cheap rice in Bohol by a volume that can go even higher by 50% of its present supply to accredited market dealers, parish outlets and other designated distributors.

This is hoped to neutralize the spiraling prices of commercial rice and even corn.

The NFA is currently assessing the situation to determine the heightening of the flow of affordable rice.

Bonabon encouraged the local government units (LGUs) to ink respective agreements with the agency on rice credit in anticipation of any possible emergency condition.

The towns can be represented by the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), which Bohol members led by Jagna Mayor Exuperio Lloren directly interacted with Bonabon and other regional officials.

By virtue of a memorandum of agreement with NFA, an LGU can have ready access to the cheap staple food in case of a disaster or calamity that may result in a grave grains shortage.

The Bonabon cited the recent Panay-Aklan-Iloilo experience as an offshoot of storm Frank that ravaged the agriculture in the area.

NFA-Cebu was forced, for the first time, to augment rice supply to the Visayas area in disaster, according to Bonabon.