The Philippine Association of Flour Millers cited a need for a more systematic program to deliver food aid to the needy and to those who are temporarily jobless.
The group said the only way to relieve pangs of hunger of the poorest in this unusual time of enhanced community quarantine was to provide food or the means to acquire food.
The most severely affected by the quarantine was the small and medium enterprises, which were forced to stop operations and lay off employees, PAFMIL said.
PAFMIL proposed the reopening of these businesses, especially those in processing and trading to ensure the availability of basic food items in the supply chain.
It also suggested that government relief agencies and LGUs procure relief goods from the SMEs that are willing to sell at factory prices, while allowing the entrepreneurs to operate and provide employment to laid-off workers.
“We also suggest that farmers and farm workers be exempt from quarantine rules as farmers need to tend to their farms to ensure the productive yields to their efforts,” it said.