MANILA, Philippines -- The government is looking into the possibility of increasing its imports of rice to boost its buffer stock in anticipation of more damages to agriculture products from the coming typhoons, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said Thursday.

"That's being studied," Yap told reporters when asked about the possibility of importing more rice. "The National Food Authority is meeting up to Saturday to assess the situation."

Yap said the country currently has a 33-day worth of buffer stocks of the staple.

He said this was a "comfortable" level, but added that "we have to assess, if there are still about 16 typhoons coming in, we have to assess production and supply through imports."

Yap said the NFA was flooding provinces ravaged by typhoon “Frank” (international codename: Fengshen) with government-subsidized rice to help people cope with the disaster.

In Sibuyan Island, where the MV Princess of the Stars capsized at the height of the storm last June 21, Yap said the NFA was supplying about 75 percent of the rice needs of the residents there because they have no money to buy food. He said the rice subsidy could last for two months.

Yap was with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the capsule-laying ceremony of the Shangri-La Hotel in Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig and at the signing ceremony of the Food Security Program with San Miguel Corporation and Kuok Group.

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez