WASHINGTON: President George W. Bush has proposed spending an additional $770 million in emergency food assistance for poor countries, responding to rising food prices that have caused social unrest in several nations. The president's proposal Thursday came days after Democrats in Congress had called for increases, and it received a largely positive response, though some Democrats criticized the fact that the aid would not be available until the next fiscal year begins in October. Bush's proposal underscored how quickly the global food crisis has risen to the top of Washington's agenda. In April, the administration ordered the Department of Agriculture to release $200 million in commodities paid for by a special trust fund, and the U.S. Agency for International Development promised $40 million more in emergency aid to countries hit hardest by soaring prices and shortages. The $770 million would be included in next year's budget, increasing total U.S. food assistance to $2.6 billion, the deputy budget director, Stephen McMillin, said in a telephone conference. Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, the chamber's second-ranking Democrat, welcomed the president's proposal "as a sign of the magnitude of this problem." But another Democrat, Senator Robert Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania, said in an interview by telephone that the administration needed to act with "a real sense of urgency" and endorse a swifter increase. Casey and Durbin asked this week for an immediate $200 million increase in foreign food aid, on top of a $350 million emergency package the administration had already proposed in a supplemental spending measure. "The dollar amount is significant," Casey said of the president's latest proposal. "The commitment is important. It is way too late." Manila covers rice shortfall The Philippines has enough rice to cover this year's domestic shortfall, the country's agriculture chief said Friday, The Associated Press reported from Los Banos, Philippines. Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said the Philippines, the world's top rice importer, had already secured 1.6 million tons of rice to make up for a 10 percent gap between domestic production and consumption.