No revamp, says DA chief amid NFA, BFAR cases

MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Sunday ruled out a major revamp in various agencies under the Department of Agriculture (DA), in the wake of the Office of the Ombudsman’s orders against the heads of the National Food Authority (NFA) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

“I think these are isolated incidents. The former NFA administrator’s case happened early this year, while the case of (former BFAR director Demosthenes) Escoto happened in 2017. It’s just unfortunate that the orders of the Ombudsman were issued one after the other,” Tiu Laurel said.

At the same time, Tiu Laurel gave assurance that the removal of Escoto, who was previously tasked to head the review of the disposition of NFA rice buffer stocks in recent years, will not affect the ongoing investigation, adding that he expects the probe to be completed in the coming weeks.

The DA chief added that the operations of both the NFA and BFAR will not be affected with the appointment of NFA acting administrator Larry Lacson, and assistant director for technical services Isidro Velayo Jr. as officer-in-charge of BFAR.