Measure to allow half-rice option pushed in Council

Two Cebu City Councilors want to institutionalize the serving of half-rice in restaurants and other establishments serving food as a means to conserve rice.

Councilors Mary Ann delos Santos and Nendell Hanz Abella want the half-rice option to be included in the menus and for waiters and waitresses to tell customers of this option.

Delos Santos and Abella presented their draft ordinance during their March 12 session requiring food-related businesses to serve half-rice to their customers or they will be fined or even lose their business permits.

The proposed ordinance allows the issuance of warnings to establishments, who violated it for the first time. Fines ranging from P3,000 to P5,000 will be imposed against second offenders while third offenders will lose their business permits and pay fines.

“The City of Cebu shall adopt measures which shall ensure rice conservation and which shall educate the consuming public not to waste rice in order to attain rice self-sufficiency,” said the proposed ordinance.
Councilors referred the draft ordinance to the laws committee for review and the issuance of a committee report.

On October 2012, President Benigno Aquino III issued Presidential Proclamation 494 declaring 2013 as the National Year of Rice pursuant to the government’s aim to attain rice sufficiency through a sustained nationwide campaign to boost farmers morale and motivate them to adopt the use of modern technologies to improve on their productivity and encourage the public to be responsible rice consumers.

A 2010 study made by the Food and Nutrition Research show that each of 2.6 million Filipino are able to waste at least two tablespoons of rice in their every meal which consist of a total of 13 percent of the total rice import per year amounting to about P6.2 billion.

“The Department of Agriculture in compliance of such directive, has called on the various Local Government Units to pass ordinances requiring the food service industry to include half-rice serving in their menu as an option to the consuming public and as a form of rice conservation measure,” said the draft ordinance.