DA, FTI officials suspended over onion purchases

FILE PHOTO: Red onions. INQUIRER FILES/Bureau of Customs

The Office of the Ombudsman has imposed a six-month preventive suspension on concerned officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) in connection with the alleged anomalous purchase of onions for Kadiwa stores.

In a four-page order dated Aug. 1, Ombudsman Samuel Martires suspended without pay for six months Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista, Administrative Officer Eunice Biblanias and Chief Accountant officer in charge Lolita Jamela, as well as FTI’s vice president for operations John Gabriel Benedict Trinidad III and budget division head Juanita Lualhati.

The five face charges of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service, in connection with the alleged manipulation of the prices and supply of onion prices as well as FTI’s procurement of the staple from Bonena Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

Agreements

According to Martires, the DA had entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with FTI on a Kadiwa Food Hub project—while FTI had also entered into an agreement with Bonena for the delivery of 8,845 sacks of onions.

Among the violations cited by the Ombudsman were the questionable selection of the cooperative, noncompliance with the MOA and “doubtful deliveries” by Bonena.

The Ombudsman said evidence against these officials was “strong.”

“Considering… that respondents’ continued stay in… office may influence potential witnesses and may prejudice the case filed against them due to their continued access to documentary evidence relative thereto, this Office exercises its power to place respondents under preventive suspension,” Martires said.

Also named respondents were DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban and FTI president and CEO Robert Tan, although Martires did not include them in his suspension order.

The suspension order was sent to the agriculture secretary or his authorized representative and to the human resource divisions and resident auditors of both the DA and FTI. President Marcos is concurrent agriculture secretary. INQ

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