New NFA head: Another case of ‘kabarkada’ appointment?

CAN a caregiver take care of the people’s needs for the most important of all staple foods—rice? The Department of Agriculture is betting that he can.

On January 21, Orlan Calayag, 38, was sworn in as the new National Food Authority (NFA) administrator. The most common reaction to the appointment was: “Who?”

Indeed, Calayag came in as a virtual unknown and what little is known about him raises questions as to his qualifications.

According to reports, Calayag entered the Philippines on December 19, 2012 using a US passport.

House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez, a lawmaker of Quezon province, said that despite the existence of Republic Act 9225, or the Dual Citizenship Act, a person who assumes any government position should renounce his foreign citizenship first.

There is nothing to indicate that Calayag is no longer an American citizen, besides being a Filipino at the same time.

The act was passed into law primarily to entice millions of Filipino Americans to become dual citizens, thus, allowing them to invest in any industry without limit. Without the dual citizenship law, non-Filipinos could only purchase small parcels of real property and are banned from investing in such industries as media, among others.

Moreover, as stated in the Food authority’s Charter, or Presidential Decree 6, all administrators and deputy administrators of the agency shall be “natural- born citizens of the Philippines, not less than 35 years of age, with proven honesty and integrity and of recognized managerial competence.”

Others also questioned the young man’s qualifications to lead the Food agency, an agency under the Department of Agriculture with an average yearly budget of P4.1 billion.

The agency is tasked with assuring the country’s supply of rice. As such, it authorizes the importation of the staple and blocks the entry of smuggled rice.

Calayag replaced Angelito Banayo, who resigned to seek a congressional seat. Calayag took his oath before his long- time boss, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, whom he served as a chief of staff, when the secretary was a representative of Quezon province.

Calayag never became a government official until this January. He hails from Quezon, where he finished his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration major in Business Marketing at Manuel S. Enverga University in 1996.

He took up his Masters in Business Administration at De La Salle University in 1998. However, he was not able to finish his master’s degree, based on data that appeared on President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s appointment letter to him dated January 17, 2013.

Furthermore, his previous work experience does not indicate “recognized managerial competence.”

Calayag became a director of operations at Progressive Community and Ecological Services—a nongovernment organization assisting farmers, fisherfolk and other rural sectors—in 2004 before becoming a relationship manager at Keybank from 2006 to 2008.

He worked as a licensed mortgage consultant in Washington State from 2009 to 2012 and as auditor at The Bellevue Sheraton Hotel in 2010.

The top of Calayag’s CV states that he was a “Patient Services Specialist” at the Swedish Medical Center at the Issaquah campus in Washington State. In other words, he was a caregiver. There is no question that being a caregiver or patient services specialist is an honorable profession. Depending on what state one works in, the hourly rate for a caregiver is $20, or $160 a day for an eight-hour workday.

Calayag’s CV also shows that he has been hopping from one job to another while in the US. From 2004 to 2012, he was connected with six different companies.

One report said that he also worked part time as a salesman of cookware. The door- to- door multi- marketing job is similar to the work that 1960s matinee idol Eddie Gutierrez, and wife Annabel Rama, had in the United States when the showbiz couple were there in the ‘70s.

If the report is true, then it may be said that Calayag is a hardworking individual, which would serve him in good stead in government service.

Returning to the Philippines after almost a decade in the US also shows that he remains loyal to Alcala.

On January 17, Calayag was appointed by the President as a member of the governing council composed of the heads of the Department of Trade and Industry, National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Finance. He was elected by the council to head the Food administration as endorsed by Aquino and Alcala.

Questions regarding his citizenship have yet to be answered. While the dual citizenship law allows him all the rights of a Filipino citizen, it does not necessarily include the privilege of being appointed to a government post, especially one as sensitive as the Food agency.

Sought for comment, the agency’s Public Affairs Office declined to give any statement regarding Calayag’s citizenship and said there was no information yet whether the administrator intends to clarify the issue. His official curriculum vitae—a basic requirement for his appointment—has not even been received by the Food authority.

Calayag’s assumption of his post was not expected.

However, his predecessor resigned after farmers’ groups sued the agency over confiscated rice that were damaged and eventually spoiled. Banayo was also accused of turning a blind eye to the activities of rice smugglers.

Whether the young Calayag can do a better job of protecting the Philippines’ rice farmers and assuring Filipinos a sufficient supply of rice will become clear in the weeks and months to come.