DECLARING a "rice emergency," as suggested by lawmakers, is fine with Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. — if only to fight rice profiteers.
The idea was broached in a hearing of the "Murang Pagkain" Super Committee at the House of Representatives, in which the problem of fluctuating rice prices was discussed, and National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Larry Lacson said the agency has a buffer stock of 5.5 million sacks of 50-kilogram rice.
