The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) explained the context behind their proposal to standardize half-cup rice serving in eateries, hotels, and restaurants to prevent rice wastage.

“[P]art po siya ng National Rice Awareness month ngayon talaga kaya natin ine-encourage yung mga consumers na wag magsayang dahil nga po yung data ng Food and Nutrition Research Institute, 2 tablespoons of rice yung nasasayang ng bawat pilipino bawat araw,” PhilRice Development Communication Division Head Hazel Antonio told DZRH.

This comes after PhilRice earlier pushed to revive Senate Bill No. 1863, or the Anti-Rice Wastage Bill filed on Oct. 13, 2016.

Antonio said one of the reasons behind rice wastage came from people who could not opt to have half-cup rice in restaurants.

“Isa po talaga sa reason kung bakit daw hindi nila maiwasan magsayang [ng rice] especially sa restaurants ay wala daw po kasing half cup of rice. Yung pong bill na nire-request sana namin na magkaroon tayo ay magkaroon sana ng half cup lahat ng restuarants para po yung mga kababayan natin na alam nilang hindi nila kayang ubusin yung 1 cup, maka-order sila ng half,” she added.

Antonio also noted that Deputy Executive Director for Development of DA-PhilRice Karen Eloisa Barroga’s statement rings true: every Filipino wastes two tablespoons of rice daily, which costs nearly P7 billion a year.

“Actually po yung kinompute namin na 7.2 billion yun po ay worth noong 2015. Yun po kasi yung data ng wastage 2015 [...] Yung presyo rin po ng bigay ay iba na so kapag kinompute naitn sa market price ngayon na 50 per kilogram, nasa 19 billion na po siya,” she said.

Antonio said their “Be RICEponsible” campaign would also promote the consumption of healthier rice options for the public.

“Yung kampanya po talaga ang pangalan niya ay be riceponsible kasi ang coverage po niya bukod sa wastage ay meron din pong promotion ng healthier rice. Kasama po dun yung brown rice, tapos rice na hinaluan ng other carbohydrates tulad po ng corn, adlai, ng mga cassava, kamote para makuha po natin yung additional nutrients sa iba pang carbohydrates plus makuha po natin sa brown rice yung nutrients na wala sa puting kanin,” she said.

According to Antonio, the campaign also aimed to support local farmers.

“Kasama rin po dun sa messages ng ating campaign yung pag promote ng local rice para po masuportahan po natin yung ating mga local farmers,” she added.