Administrator Lito Banayo of the National Food Authority (NFA) said Monday his agency’s excess rice will be sold to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and local government units (LGUs).

Banayo’s declaration effectively shuts the door to any scheme to distribute rice for free, as demanded by groups such as the Kilusang Mayo Uno and Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas.

The NFA chief said the excess rice is all the stocks held in 726 NFA warehouses and leased depots minus the mandatory 30-day buffer stock.

The NFA buffer stock translates to 1,095,000 metric tons (MT) since the national daily consumption is 36,500 MT.

The national buffer stock consists of the rice stored in farmers’ granaries, the inventory of wholesalers and retailers, and the rice stored in individual homes.

The total volume that NFA would sell is expected to be in excess of 1.095 million metric tons.

Purportedly, NFA has more than 2 MMT of rice stocks in all its warehouses.

Under the plan, DSWD and LGUs would buy the NFA stocks at P23.50 per kilo and dispose of the same at P25 per kilo.

At the price set by NFA, it is doubtful if the stocks would end up with the poor since the market of the agency is mainly the poor who buy rice at P18.25 per kilo.

Meanwhile, the guidelines on the distribution of tons of excess rice stocks in government warehouses will be known this week, Malacañang said.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and Banayo met Monday morning to discuss details of the rice distribution.

"They will be submitting to the President their recommendation sometime tomorrow. We'll disclose the details once the President approves the recommendation of the three cabinet secretaries and Administrator Banayo.

That will be forthcoming this week and hopefully we'll have details on that either Wednesday or Thursday," Lacierda said.

The DSWD is looking at the distribution of excess supply of rice to poor families by October through the government’s Food-for Work program, said Soliman.

In a radio interview, Soliman said the Department of Agriculture (DA) and NFA plan to deliver the rice surplus before harvest season in October.

Soliman noted that the government is mulling the distribution of rice through supplemental feeding programs of 48,000 day-care centers, which translates to 1.5 million three-to-five-year-old children.

She said the government will see to it that the distribution of rice will not appear like a dole-out of excess rice to poor families.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DepEd) is planning to revive the Food-for-School Program (FSP) this school year.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said the department plans to work with the DA to ensure less wastage of resources and the accurate delivery of rice.

“Through coordination with the DA, the main component of the program, which is rice, will be delivered to the correct recipient,” he said. (With reports from JC Ruiz, Ina Hernando Malipot, and Ellalyn B. De Vera)