Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 51)
The main purpose of Executive Order No. 51 is to direct all government departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, instrumentalities, including government-owned and controlled corporations, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police to source their rice requirements from the National Food Authority (NFA) when providing rice as an employee incentive or non-monetary benefit or for use in their functions.
All departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities of the National Government, including government-owned and controlled corporations, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine National Police are covered by Executive Order No. 51.
The NFA is mandated by law to stabilize the supply and price of the country's staple food, rice, by building and maintaining a minimum strategic rice reserve equivalent to 15 days of national consumption at any given time and a buffer stock equivalent to at least 30 days by July 1 of every year.
No, government entities must source rice from the NFA unless they obtain a waiver issued by the NFA allowing them to source rice elsewhere.
NFA rice is priced at a reasonable level far lower than the price of commercial rice of comparable quality, making it affordable especially to fixed and low-income earners.
The NFA Council must approve the scheme and guidelines that the National Food Authority will draw up to facilitate the withdrawal, delivery, and payment of NFA rice by government entities.
The National Food Authority is tasked to prepare and initiate the forging of an appropriate Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with concerned government offices to operationalize the rice supply arrangement.
All executive orders, rules, regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Executive Order are either revoked or modified accordingly.
The Executive Order took effect immediately upon its promulgation on December 22, 1999.
Rice is recognized as a form of incentive or non-monetary benefit provided by government offices to their employees and is to be sourced primarily from the NFA to ensure affordability and stabilized supply.