Anti-rice wastage bill gets mixed reactions

CEBU, Philippines - While the local government expressed support to the passage of the bill seeking hotels and restaurants to serve half-orders of rice, the private sector seems to emphasize the values of discipline and responsibility of Filipinos to eat what they could only consume on every meal.

According to the Philippine Rice Research Institute, each Filipino wastes as much as three kilos of rice every day that is equivalent to P23 million worth of wasted rice daily, amounting to P8 billion every year.

Also, the Food and Nutrition Research Institute  under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) reported that an average of three tablespoons or nine grams of rice are wasted by every Filipino every year. This is equal to 3.3 kilograms every year.

To address the rice wastage problem, Senator Bongbong Marcos has proposed the Senate Bill 1863 or the Anti-Rice Wastage Act of 2013 which seeks hotels, restaurants and other eateries to serve their customers with half-orders of rice. Those establishments who refuse to do such will be penalized accordingly.

Cebu City agriculturist Joselito Baclayon said that they aim for the passage of the bill to offer diners an option to eat what they could only consume in a restaurant, thus limiting their consumption of rice and minimizing the wastage of rice in the establishment.

He also suggested that lawmakers could also take a look into standardizing the packaging of rice especially among retailers as similar to other countries are practicing.

He cited that in Cebu City alone, around 185 hectares of rice farms could be found in five mountain barangays such as Lusaran, Cambinocot, Sudlon 2, Paril, and Tabunan.

Each hectare of could produce about three tons of rice with its production happening twice every year. Baclayon said that although Cebu is not a major rice producer in the country, there is an estimate of 256 rice farmers and laborers in the city. 

Aside from educating the public on their responsibility on rice consumption, Baclayon said that the Department of Agriculture also advocates on encouraging Filipinos to consider other staple food other than rice and corn such as potato, root crops, cookies, and bread.

Hotels, Resorts, and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) president Cenelyn Manguilimotan, however, pointed out that hotels, restaurants and other establishments in Cebu are already offering half-rice orders to their customers even before hand.

“It already exists in the menu. Customers could always ask if they want to order only a half-cup of rice. The question is how half is half,” she said.

She also recommended taking into consideration the volume of rice wasted in buffets rather than those served in ala carte.

She suggested that the government needs to conduct a survey on where the rice wastage usually originates to identify the root cause.

Manguilimotan further pointed out that one could also look at assessing the upbringing of the person who wastes rice.

She admitted that she, herself, was brought up by her parents practicing the habit of finishing what is in her plate every meal.

“It starts at home,” she said, adding that a cup of rice is already enough for most people.

She also said that since most of the Filipinos eat at home, it is important to control the cooking of rice based on the consumption of the family members.

She personally believed that the anti-rice wastage bill will not necessarily put a resolution to the core problem.

Although they acknowledge that the Philippines is considered as one of the rice-eating countries, she said that addressing rice wastage is more on educating Filipinos the value of rice.

“Personally, I don’t think it will have an impact. It’s no big deal. We should identify where it all started. It won’t matter if you eat a single cup of rice or a half. Besides, we can even share rice with our fellow diners. People ought to understand the value of rice and there make a difference,” Manguilimotan stated.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines, meanwhile, expressed support to the bill. /JMD (FREEMAN)