Retailers say they’ve run out of supplies. The government insists there is no shortage. Regardless of the true situation, regular consumers of subsidized rice are now forced to buy regular – and costlier – rice varieties following the reported depletion of the buffer stocks of the National Food Authority to just about a third of a day’s supply.

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco says the shortage is artificial, and blames the NFA for the mess. There are suspicions that the shortage is being created to increase demand for and consequently the prices of regular rice. Another suspicion is that certain quarters are out to make money from importing rice and therefore want the importations advanced from the schedule approved by President Duterte in June.

There is ample supply of a wide range of regular rice varieties. Government officials stress that NFA rice is supposed to serve chiefly as a buffer during lean periods or calamities. But officials also say up to eight percent of Filipinos depend on NFA rice for their daily needs. That means nearly 10 million Filipinos who regularly consume low-priced rice.

The government needs to clarify its policy on rice subsidies and the role of the NFA, which some quarters want abolished. Through several administrations, the policy has been characterized by incoherence, which opens opportunities for crooks to operate.

A pressing task at this time is to determine the true state of the rice buffer stock. There must be a better way of monitoring the consumption of NFA rice, to determine with certainty whether certain quarters are manipulating the price and supply. The manipulation has been rumored for many years, along with the alleged existence of a rice cartel. Perhaps under President Duterte, the truth might come out. Anyone manipulating the prices of the nation’s staple and profiting particularly at the expense of the poorest consumers must face punishment.