MOTU PROPRIO The House committee on agriculture is conducting an investigation into the supposedly anomalous sale of old National Food Authority rice stocks to private traders at lower prices and without a bidding. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Amid Congress’ probe on the controversial sale of price buffer stocks to private traders, the Department of Agriculture (DA) has ordered an audit of the National Food Authority (NFA) rice disposition since 2019, the year when the Rice Tariffication Law (RTL) was passed.
The agency’s move came after Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda likewise urged the lower chamber to go beyond its probe on the improper disposition of government rice stocks and asked the NFA and the Commission on Audit (COA) to account for P152 billion cash inflows the agency received from 2018 to 2022.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. issued the order authorizing the DA’s Internal Audit Service to conduct the examination of NFA’s rice stocks.
READ: Solon wants NFA to account for P152-B cash inflows from 2018 to 2022
“DA-NFA officials and personnel are directed to extend their full assistance and cooperation to DA-IAS to ensure the successful conduct of this audit,” Tiu Laurel said in a statement on Saturday.
Citing the RTL, the DA chief said NFA was disallowed from selling the stocks to the public; however, he pointed out that this might have been used by “unscrupulous officials and traders through the sale of aging rice buffer stocks.”
“We want to see if there is a pattern of rice disposition that is disadvantageous to the government,” he said.
READ: NFA chief: ‘No irregularities in the disposition of rice stocks’
Last March 4, the Office of the Ombudsman placed National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Roderico Bioco and 138 other officials and employees of the agency under preventive suspension for six months amid the ongoing investigation into the alleged anomalous sale of the government’s rice buffer stocks.
As stated in its order, the Ombudsman said it found “sufficient grounds” to suspend the NFA officials and employees as “there is strong evidence showing their guilt.” The charges against them included grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
Citing a letter-complaint filed by NFA Assistant Administrator for Operations Lemuel Pagayunan, the Ombudsman said Bioco permitted the traders to sell 75,000 bags of “deteriorating or aging” NFA rice for P93.75 million through a series of memoranda.
This prompted the House panel on agriculture and food to begin a motu proprio investigation last March 7.