National Security Adviser (NSA) Secretary Eduardo Ano expressed support for the declaration of a food security emergency which is expected to be decided by the Department of Agriculture (DA) this week.

Recognizing the country's food security as a national security interest, Ano noted that "while there is sufficient supply of rice in the country, the price of rice, however, remains artificially high despite declining global rice costs and tariff reductions ordered by the President."

"We support the declaration of a food security emergency by the Department of Agriculture to reduce the price of rice in the country," he said.

Since rice is the country’s staple food, artificially high prices directly impact the lives of all Filipinos, Ano said "the Department of Agriculture therefore is well within its authority to effectively regulate and reduce the price to protect the interests of the public."

"We therefore support this measure by the DA to address high rice prices. Nonetheless, we call on market actors to be one with the government in this endeavor," he added.

In an interview last Saturday, Agriculture spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the agency may declare a food security emergency by Wednesday.

"The expectation is that by Monday, the DA will receive a copy of the resolution approving the recommendation to declare a food security emergency. It is expected to be reviewed by Monday until Tuesday, and by Wednesday, the Secretary will have an action on that and most likely again the declaration of a food security emergency," he said.

Ano said "food security is a major component of the administration’s 15-point National Security Agenda as outlined in the 2023 National Security Policy (NSP)" and this is "further articulated in the 2024 National Security Strategy (NSS) which mandates the government’s role in ensuring food availability, accessibility, affordability, and safety."

Under RA 12708, "the Secretary of Agriculture can declare a food security emergency if there is an extraordinary increase in the price of rice or if there is a rice shortage in the country." Robina Asido/DMS