Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William Dar assured the public on Tuesday there is enough food supply for the two-week modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) period.
During a virtual presser in Malacañang, Dar mentioned specifically a sufficient supply of rice, vegetables, fruit, chicken, and fish to meet the requirements of households in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.
He however appealed to local government units to ensure the unhampered movement of goods and prime commodities in their areas, citing a report received by the department that vegetable cargoes coming from Benguet could not get through the checkpoints.
Dar said local government units along with the law enforcers should work in unity to allow free movement in the food chain.
In response to the call of the medical community, Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal have been placed under MECQ from August 3 to 18 to arrest the continuous rise in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections.
On Monday, the Department of Health reported 3,226 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infected individuals to 106,330 with 2,104 deaths and 65,821 recoveries.