The local government unit of Navotas City started selling the P33 rice from the National Food Authority (NFA) on Friday.

Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco said they will start selling cheaper rice from the NFA to alleviate the burden on their daily expenses.

Customers can buy the NFA rice at the Chinese Filipino Business Club, Inc. Vocational Training Center on Dalag Street in Barangay NBBS Dagat-dagatan.

“There’s no limit in the rice selling, you can even buy one sack of the NFA rice,” the city mayor said.

A sack of NFA rice is being sold for P1,650.

The store in Barangay Dagat-dagatan will be open every Monday to Friday, from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Tiangco also said that the local government will set up stalls to sell rice in other barangays of Navotas City, to ensure that all residents will be able to purchase the P33 per kilogram of rice.

Navotas City Public Information Officer Irish Cubillan said that the local government initially purchased 1,000 sacks of rice.

The NFA said on Friday that they are urging different local government units (LGUs) to speed up their rice procurement from the NFA warehouses to enable the agency to buy more rice supplies from different provinces.

The P33 rice was launched due to the declaration of a food security emergency on rice by the Department of Agriculture based on the recommendation of the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC) following the rise in the price of the local rice supply.