DA suspends 139 NFA personnel
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Monday that it had enforced the preventive suspension order for 139 officials and employees of the National Food Administration (NFA).
“Today, we are implementing the preventive suspension order of the Ombudsman against 139 officials and employees of the NFA, who are being investigated for alleged involvement in the controversial sale of rice buffer stocks,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.
“I have been in contact with the Office of the Ombudsman ever since this controversy erupted. I also created a special panel of investigators to determine culpability and see how we can prevent it from happening again in the future,” he added.
He said he would temporarily take over NFA’s leadership “to avoid any delays in the projects and services of the industry.”
The suspended personnel include NFA Administrator Roderico Bioco and Assistant Administrator for Operations John Robert Hermano.
Laurel said the investigating panel plans to look for evidence from as far back as 2019.
The DA said the preventive suspension would allow the Ombudsman and the department to secure all documents and evidence related, but not limited to, the sale of rice buffer stocks.
The suspension of the 39 NFA personnel stemmed from a complaint from the Office of the President, accusing Bioco of involvement in the alleged questionable sale of rice to some traders in February 2024.
Meanwhile, Sen. Maria Josefa Imelda “Imee” Marcos wants to investigate the NFA’s alleged “highly suspicious” P93.75-million sale of 75,000 bags of rice stock to two traders as consumers clamored for cheaper rice.
Senator Marcos said the NFA has “completely lost its way” amid a cutback in the global rice supply.
She said a thorough review of the NFA’s mandate was crucial to deal with a global rice shortage.
“The Philippines is now the world’s largest rice importer, and the dire market situation today will only worsen in the coming months,” Senator Marcos said.
She cited the El Niño weather disturbances and rice-exporting countries prioritizing their domestic needs.
“The NFA was also at the forefront of buying rice from India. Why did they end up there when their charter strictly prohibits them from importation?” Marcos said.
She said that the NFA was established in 1972 to buy palay from local farmers, stabilize rice prices for the Filipino consumer, and ensure a sufficient buffer stock for calamities.
However, she said the NFA has “repeatedly fallen short of its required buffer stock and been unable to cope” with higher farm gate prices of palay, which rose to as high as P27 per kilo last year.
Although palay’s farmgate price has dipped to P23, the NFA said earlier that it could only afford to subsidize local farmers’ palay at P17 to P19 per kilo.