By el Amigo

MANILA — Despite the removal of the official leading the probe, the Department of Agriculture (DA) remains committed to investigating the alleged improper sale of rice stocks by the National Food Authority (NFA).

The Office of the Ombudsman recently ordered the dismissal of Demosthenes Escoto, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) director and head of the investigation panel, for grave misconduct related to BFAR’s procurement of communications equipment in 2018.

“The panel, led by Escoto along with Atty. Willie Ann Angsiy and Assistant Secretary James Layug, remain intact. The majority of the team is still actively engaged,” stated Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa during a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Friday.

De Mesa assured that the investigation would continue with the two remaining officials on the panel. He emphasized that there would be no significant delays in the process, as the panel’s activities are fully supported while awaiting the appointment of a new head.

“The discussions are ongoing, and Secretary [Francisco] Tiu Laurel will announce the new head at any moment,” De Mesa added.

Secretary Laurel has directed the NFA to expedite the submission of necessary documents to the panel and to cooperate with the Ombudsman’s concurrent investigation. The DA aims to scrutinize procurement and rice quality assessment records dating back to 2019.

The alleged improper sale involves approximately 75,000 bags of NFA rice valued at over PHP 93.7 million, which were reportedly sold to selected millers and traders without a bidding process, resulting in a price deemed “disadvantageous” to the government.

(IA/MNM)

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — In its bid to make it competitive for local farmers, the National Food Authority (NFA) Council is set to meet on Thursday (11 April 2024)  to discuss the possibility of adjusting its buying price of palay.

This developed as the NFA has failed to meet its palay procurement target for the month of February.

“Nevertheless, the National Food Authority shall continue to provide the best service to farmers and farmers organizations, to entice them to sell their produce to NFA,” the agency said in its statement.

NFA officer-in-charge Administrator Larry Lacson admitted that the agency is facing difficulties in procuring palay during the harvest, noting that traders are outbidding them by buying the grain at higher prices than it offers.

He pointed out that based on the NFA’s monitoring, traders buy palay at P25 to P27 per kilo while it only buys palay at a maximum of P23 per kilo.

In its February 2024 accomplishment report, the NFA reported that it procured 12,378 bags of palay, or the equivalent to 618.9 metric tons (MT) of the grain, during the month.

This was a measly 2.28% of the agency’s target of 542,800 bags or 27,140 MT of palay for the period.

“Decrease in procurement is due to lesser palay harvest, since February is not a harvest season hence the procured palay is just a spill over of the last cropping season,” the NFA explained in its report.

(el Amigo/MNM)

By Junex Doronio

MANILA — In his bid to clean up the National Food Authority (NFA) of unscrupulous officials and traders taking advantage through the sale of aging rice buffer stocks, Department of Agriculture (DA) Francisco “Kiko” Tiu Laurel Jr. has ordered the agency’s Internal Audit Service (IAS) to examine NFA’s rice stocks disposition since 2019.

Laurel issued the directive amid the alleged irregularities in the sale of the NFA’s buffer stocks to private traders.

“DA-NFA officials and personnel are directed to extend their full assistance and cooperation to DA-IAS to ensure the successful conduct of this audit,” the DA chief said.

According to the DA news release on Saturday (09 March 2024), the department’s IAS, headed by officer-in-charge Director Joan Jagonos-Oliva, has been ordered to review the period starting in 2019 when the Rice Tariffication Law was passed.

It was learned that the passage of the Rice Tariffication Law, which allowed liberalized importation of rice, has removed the NFA’s role in regulating the rice sector as well as its function as the only agency allowed to import rice shipments into the country.

The DA clarified that NFA’s mandate now solely focuses on ensuring a sufficient supply of buffer stocks of rice in the Philippines—30 days worth of the country’s total consumption during the lean season, and 15 days otherwise.

However, the DA noted that these provisions might have been taken advantage of by unscrupulous officials and traders through the sale of aging rice buffer stocks.

“We want to see if there is a pattern of rice disposition that is disadvantageous to the government,” Laurel Jr. said.

(el Amigo/MNM)

MANILA – Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. called on National Food Authority (NFA) officials currently under investigation for the alleged improper sale of NFA buffer stock rice at a subsidized price to consider taking a voluntary leave of absence (LOA).

In a statement, Laurel emphasized the importance of allowing the Department of Agriculture’s investigating panel to conduct a thorough review of the matter “without any potential hindrance.”

“It is advisable, and I strongly recommend, for the concerned officials – particularly those accused and those making accusations – to take a leave of absence,” he stated.

While emphasizing the principle of presumption of innocence amidst the ongoing exchanges of allegations within the NFA, Laurel highlighted the significance of the internal investigation process. “Until proven guilty, everyone is to be considered innocent. However, this internal investigation is of paramount importance, and we must allow it the necessary time,” he remarked.

The agricultural chief underscored that the ongoing probe represents just the initial phase, with subsequent actions from the DA contingent upon the investigation’s findings.

Though no specific deadline was mentioned by Laurel, his office anticipates a prompt and thorough assessment outcome.

Earlier disclosures by NFA Assistant Administrator for Operations Lemuel Pagayunan to the People’s Television Network revealed the alleged sale of 75,000 bags of NFA rice without the requisite public bidding process. The purported transaction amounted to over PHP 93.7 million, with the rice sold to selected millers and traders at a rate of PHP 25 per kilogram.

In response, NFA executives asserted that the sale adhered to established protocols and denied any irregularities.

(el Amigo/MNM)