Ombudsman lifts suspension order vs 23 NFA personnel

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has lifted the suspension order against 23 of the 141 National Food Authority (NFA) officials and employees who are facing investigation in connection with the allegedly anomalous sale of the government’s rice buffer stocks to private traders.

Ombudsman Samuel Martires confirmed yesterday that his office lifted the six-month preventive suspension of 23 warehouse supervisors upon the recommendation of his field investigators.

Martires, however, was quick to clarify that the supervisors are still included as respondents in the ombudsman’s ongoing investigation.

He said the investigators have yet to look into the “merits of the case” or the specific participation of each of the respondent NFA officials.

“No, (the lifting of suspension was) not in terms of their involvement. We are saying that there is no need to continue the suspension of these employees because we already gathered the documents from them,” Martires said.

Martires could not immediately furnish the reporters a copy of the order lifting the suspension of 23 NFA officials, but said that they were all warehouse supervisors, mostly assigned in Iloilo, Antique and Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

He also maintained that the names of the NFA officials and employees placed under preventive suspension were just based on the matrix submitted to the ombudsman by the office of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.

“There may be some people who want to sabotage Secretary Laurel. He must investigate them,” he added, reacting to reports that some of the NFA officials and employees ordered preventively suspended were already dead or had retired years ago.

“The NFA is not fooling us, they are fooling Secretary Laurel. Why? Are they afraid that Secretary Laurel might discover something? From what I know, the scope of the investigation of Secretary Laurel’s office is from 2019 to present,” Martires said.

In a radio interview, Martires confirmed that of the 141 suspended NFA officials and personnel, 23 of them can return to work after their suspension was lifted.

With the latest order of Martires, only 118 NFA officials and employees remain suspended.

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture lauded the decision of the ombudsman to lift the suspension against 23 NFA officials.

Agriculture spokesman Arnel de Mesa confirmed that the DA has received a copy of the order lifting the suspension against NFA Batangas branch manager Harold Cuartero, adding that the agency is awaiting the copy pertaining to the 22 others.

Laurel has said that the resolution of cases against the officials and employees of the NFA must be hastened.

It was on March 4 when the ombudsman ordered the six-month preventive suspension of NFA administrator Roderico Bioco, assistant administrator for operations John Robert Hermano and 137 other NFA officials and employees facing administrative charges of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

A week later, the ombudsman also ordered the six-month preventive suspension of newly appointed NFA officer-in-charge administrator Piolito Santos and acting department manager for operations and coordination Jonathan Yazon as they were added as respondents in the administrative charges.

The charges stemmed from the alleged illegal sale of 75,000 bags of NFA rice, which was part of the government’s buffer stocks, to private traders G4 Rice Mill San Miguel Corp. and NBK San Pedro Rice Mill for a total of P93.75 million without the approval of the NFA Council.

Under Republic Act 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law, the government is mandated to purchase from local farmers around 300,000 metric tons of rice in order to have a year-round national buffer stock for distribution in times of calamities and emergency situations.

During a hearing at the House committee on agriculture last week, it was also revealed that the rice buffer stocks were sold to the private traders for P25 per kilogram even if the market price was at P70 per kilogram.

On Thursday, several officials and employees of the NFA trooped to the main office of the ombudsman in Quezon City to demand the early resolution of the case. — Bella Cariaso