Warehouse owner denies rebagging

ILOILO CITY—The family that owns a warehouse in a town in Iloilo province has denied involvement in the illegal trade of National Food Authority-supplied rice following the relief of at least seven officials and employees of the NFA in two provinces pending results of an investigation of the alleged illegal trading practice.

The family of Dennis Devicente surfaced on Thursday, a week after National Bureau of Investigation agents raided his warehouse in Barangay (village) Napnod in Leganes town in Iloilo.

“We have been in the rice business for 17 years. We are not engaged in rebagging of NFA rice and we can prove that,” said Charmaine Devicente, who spoke on behalf of her father Dennis.

Charmaine said that during the NBI raid, the warehouse kept only 23 bags of NFA rice and 800 bags of commercial rice.

The denial followed the relief of seven NFA officials and employees assigned to NFA warehouses in Iloilo and Capiz provinces. Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas