A resident shows the alledge fake rice given to them during the distribution of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in Santa. Fe, Bantayan Island.
CDN PHOTO/LITO M. TECSON
FAKE RICE REPORT
After reports of fake rice being distributed in Santa Fe town on Bantayan Island went viral on social media, the National Food Authority (NFA) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) launched separate investigations, especially that some residents allegedly got sick after eating the rice.
Unverified Facebook posts circulating on social media showed photos of the alleged fake rice distributed to the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Santa Fe with captions that described how some of them reportedly suffered nausea, vomiting and stomachache, which are symptoms similar to that of food poisoning.
A resident, who requested anonymity, said his family suffered from stomachache and diarrhea after eating the rice they received.
“Pagkadawat namo ana among gilung-ag para panihapon. Pagkaugma ana mga alas tres sa kadlawn nagsige nami’g kalibang pwerte ng sakita sa among tiyan,” the resident said.
(When we received the rice we cooked it for dinner. The next day around 3 a.m. we suffered diarrhea and severe stomachache.)
But as of yesterday afternoon, the municipal government of Santa Fe, the NFA and the DSWD reported that the claims of fake rice remained allegations and could not be verified.
Santa Fe Mayor Jose Esgana posted on the town’s official Facebook page that they are still conducting validations on the reports.
Vice Mayor Isthamar Espinosa on the other hand said they are proposing a resolution for a separate investigation.
“Nakabantay mi sa allegations tung hapon sa Martes (June 20) labi na sa FB (Facebook). Ang among nadawatan nga unofficial report is that naay nagsuka, nag sakit ang tiyan kay nakakaon daw og fake rice, pero allegations pa ni sila (We noticed the allegations on Tuesday afternoon especially on FB. We received unverified reports that there are people vomiting, experiencing stomachache because they ate the alleged fake rice),” Espinosa stated.
At the Capitol, Acting Governor Agnes Magpale directed the town officials to submit samples of all rice sold and distributed there, and provide an incident report.
“I will ask Santa Fe to give us samples of the rice in order to see if the allegations are real, and I will ask them to submit a report of their ongoing investigations about this. But imagine this — to make fake rice is actually more expensive than buying real one,” said Magpale.
Leah Quintana, DSWD information officer, said DSWD didn’t distribute any NFA rice to 4Ps beneficiaries in Sta. Fe.
“There was no actual rice distribution but we gave them P600 so they could buy rice,” she said in a phone interview on Wednesday.
Olma Bayno, NFA Central Visayas information officer, said, “We sent our enforcement team to Bantayan to conduct an investigation. It is important that we find out where they bought the rice because that is included in the investigation,” she added.
“You can distinguish them through their physical characteristics. Fake rice have grains which are uniform in shape because they are made out through a machine while real paddy grains are not. You can also notice that there are ridges or grooves on the surface of the grain. Grains of fake rice have smooth surfaces,” Bayno said through a phone interview.
She also said that fake rice do not leave chalky white dust as residue.
Bayno said that they cannot immediately conclude that fake rice was distributed based only on the accounts of the residents posted in social media.
She recalled that last week there was also a report on fake rice in Dumaguete City, but upon examination, it was real rice.
“We also did that experimentation (where they make a rice ball and throw it on the ground). Ang tinuod nga rice kay mo untol man pud siya. Mo-matter man ’sab daw ang paglungag ana,” Bayno said.
She, however, urged the residents to go to the NFA office and bring at least one kilo of alleged fake rice for laboratory examination.