NFA releases new batch of cleared 'bukbok' rice

MANILA, Philippines — State-run National Food Authority (NFA) is releasing another 150,000 bags of rice that were infested with weevils or bukbok after it received clearance to discharge the grains following fumigation process.

The unloading of 132,400 bags of imported rice has resumed at the Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales after the Plant Quarantine Service of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) declared the shipment free of weevil infestation.

BPI issued the clearance after conducting a thorough inspection, examination and sensory evaluation of the samples taken from the three holds of the vessel MV Gazi.

After a 12-day fumigation process, the rice stocks coming from Thailand were declared safe for consumption.

Barring bad weather conditions, unloading of the rice shipment is expected to resume today for delivery to NFA warehouses.

The rice shipment of 132,400 bags is part of the 160,000 bags allocated for distribution in Central Luzon.

This will beef up the inventory of NFA rice in the agency’s warehouses in Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Bulacan, Zambales, Tarlac, Bataan and Aurora.

The NFA maintained that the agency did not spend a single centavo for the treatment of the infested stocks because they are not yet NFA-owned.

Last week, NFA released nearly 200,000 bags of weevil-infested rice in the Port of Tabaco in Albay after it received clearance from the BPI-PQS.