NFA initiates corporate management reforms
Amid all the issues of corruption being linked to him, National Food Authority (NFA) administrator Jason Laureano Y. Aquino has instructed all officials of the agency to implement reforms and tighten guidelines in the implementation of programs and projects.
Aquino said in a statement yesterday that to prevent graft within NFA, he will craft reforms to hasten the resolution of pending cases as well as tighten project guidelines.
In a memorandum, the NFA chief asked all NFA central office department and regional managers to submit to the agency’s Legal Affairs Department (LAD) all copies of contracts, memoranda of agreement (MOA) and memoranda of understanding (MOU) entered into in 2016 and earlier and hold the signing and execution of new contracts and agreements.
“The objective was to review and standardize all NFA contracts across its 15 regional and 89 provincial offices nationwide,” Aquino said.
Aquino noted that contracts, MOAs, and MOUs entered into by NFA’s central and field offices varied in form and content even if they were compliant with pertinent provisions of the law.
For example, every contract is covered by Terms of Reference (TOR) but TORs for similar contracts varied in the various offices of the agency.
The administrator has likewise created a team to look into the existing contracts and draft a uniform or standardized format and TOR for specific agreements such as services, supplies and linkages with other government agencies, the private sector and local government units (LGUs). In line with these reforms, Aquino has ordered the conduct of nationwide seminars for concerned employees on RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Law to ensure that all procurement procedures are complied with.
Another measure meant to avert early deterioration, spillages, and pilferages on NFA stocks in storage is to use a new packaging system for NFA rice, the materials and cost of which is under study and development to ensure cost-effectiveness.
To recall, NFA Council chairman and Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. earlier linked officials of NFA, including Aquino, to corruption and even proposed to create a special committee to investigate their actions.