Rodrigo Villar Bangca, a vendor in Poblacion-6 in Midsayap, hanged himself using a rope. His body was found a day after by Wilma Celebio, a farm caretaker.
Bangca’s widow told Midsayap police that her husband was upset after learning that the local rice supply had become scarce and expensive.
She told investigators that days before her husband hanged himself, he heard him saying that life is getting harder for poor people like them.
“He had lost hope but I never expected he would kill himself,” she said.
Many rice retailers in Midsayap and in other towns of North Cotabato have stopped selling after prices of the commodity became unstable.
“Last week, we could still buy a sack of rice from the wholesalers at P1,850. A few hours later, it increased to about P2,050. A day after, it soared to about P2,200. Today, a sack of Milagrosa rice is sold at P2,500,” said Toto Bacus, a rice retailer.
“Milagrosa, a first-class rice variety, is sold in the market here at P50 to P52 per kilo because of scarcity in supply,” he said.
Ordinary rice is sold at P38 to P40 per kilo, while NFA rice has remained at P18.25 per kilo.(MindaNews)