DA mulls refunds over NFA scam
A report indicated 150,000 rice bags were allegedly sold by NFA to certain traders, 88,000 of which have not left NFA warehouses
The Department of Agriculture expressed Wednesday the possibility of returning the money of traders who brought the hugely discounted National Food Authority of NFA rice in exchange for the grains that will be used as evidence.
“What OIC administrator Pio [Santos] mentioned is that it should not be released because it is under investigation and there is a possibility that the money will be returned,” DA spokesperson Asec. Arnel De Mesa said.
A report indicated 150,000 rice bags were allegedly sold by NFA to certain traders, 88,000 of which have not left NFA warehouses.
“According to the information provided, and this was already mentioned by OIC administrator Pio Santos during the last hearing in Congress, there is still rice that has not been withdrawn from there in their last transaction, so it’s still in the NFA warehouses,” De Mesa said.
Moreover, the DA official said the rice audit is still ongoing and will go as far back as 2019, the year the Rice Tariffication Law took effect.
He, however, noted that there is no specific deadline given by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on the disposition of the sold rice.
“This rice audit is an investigation, review of documents, and policies, because there are NFA council resolutions that must be followed regarding the proper disposition of palay and rice,” De Mesa explained.
“First, it will be checked [to see] if it is correct or consistent with these kinds of resolutions and if the processes and documents are also correct. It’s more of a process audit. There are two reports that are made before selling, the laboratory analysis report and the QUASAR, the quality assurance report… and it’s being checked if it is done correctly and [if] the disposition is also in line with the results of the laboratory analysis.”
In his privilege speech on Monday, Senator Raffy Tulfo claimed that the NFA declared the still good rice was not fit for human consumption.