Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. reassumed his post as administrator of the National Food Authority after the Ombudsman suspended two more executives of the agency, including the man he appointed to be officer-in-charge.
“We want to stabilize the situation at the NFA following the events of last week. We want to help NFA employees during these challenging times to continue to provide uninterrupted service, especially during this harvest season,” Tiu Laurel said.
The Ombudsman suspended NFA officer-in-charge Piolito Santos along and acting department manager for operation Jonathan Yazon in relation to the controversial sale of 75,000 bags of rice buffer stocks.
Santos held his post for barely a week when he was appointed by the NFA Council on March 6, after the Ombudsman suspended 139 NFA personnel, including administrator Roderico Bioco and assistant administrator John Robert Hermano.
Tiu Laurel on Monday designated director IV Larry Lacson as officer-in-charge deputy administrator of the NFA to carry out the functions of the food agency and ensure uninterrupted service to consumers.
NFA is tasked to build a national rice buffer stock of around 300,000 metric tons by purchasing rice from local farmers.
Over the weekend, Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. called for tougher congressional oversight of the multibillion-peso rice buffer stocking program after the controversial sale of 75,000 bags of government rice buffer stocks to private traders worth an estimated P93.75 million.
“Congress must take strong action to safeguard the buffer stocking program, which is meant to keep an optimal level of rice reserves at all times for use during emergencies, while providing strong buying support to local farmers,” he said.
Congress earmarked P9 billion for the buffer stocking program in the 2024 national budget in addition to the P9 billion allocated in 2023.
Moreover, Congress set aside a separate P5 billion this year “for the construction, repair and rehabilitation of NFA warehouses” to boost the buffer stocking program.
The Department of Agriculture is launching a full audit of the NFA’s rice management practices to examine all rice disposition data since 2019, the year the Rice Tariffication Law came into effect.
“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.
The law restricts NFA’s ability to sell rice directly to consumers, raising concerns about potential misuse by officials or traders, particularly regarding the sale of older buffer stocks.
“We want to see if there is a pattern of rice disposition that is disadvantageous to the government,” the DA chief added.