DA hopes to revive proposal on half-cup rice bill

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 9) — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is hoping to gain support from Congress for its proposal requiring restaurants to offer a half-cup rice serving option to reduce food waste.

During a Palace briefing, DA-Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) Development Communication Division Head Hazel Antonio said they would push this under the leadership of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who previously filed a similar measure when he was still a senator.

Antonio said they have approached the office of Sen. Loren Legarda to potentially sponsor the bill.

“Mas maganda kung national ang law para kahit saan pumunta, dapat magse-serve sila ng half-cup,” she said.

[Translation: It’s better if this would be passed into law so restaurants nationwide would be required to serve half-cup rice.]

Based on their consultation with businesses, the official said they welcomed the proposal as long as they would not incur added costs.

Antonio said 46 ordinances have been issued so far for the half-cup of rice option, covering major cities such as Quezon City, Manila, Davao, Cebu, Puerto Princesa, Baguio, and Iloilo.

This surfaced anew as the Philippines celebrates National Rice Awareness Month.

Aside from urging consumers to buy from local farmers, Antonio said PhilRice has been partnering with private sectors to boost their campaign against rice wastage.

She said almost 385,000 metric tons of rice are wasted per year.