Probe on alleged illegal NFA rice sale ongoing, says DA

The Department of Agriculture said there’s an ongoing conduct of investigation on the alleged illegal sale of 75,000 bags of rice by the National Food Authority to private traders.

DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa, in a news forum on Saturday, said the result of the probe will come out soon.

“The investigation is ongoing and the panel of investigators are now reviewing the documents… they also conducted several interviews and we’re expecting the updates on the ongoing investigation will come out soon,” he said.

De Mesa said DA chief Francisco Tiu Laurel has already summoned the two NFA officials tagged in the controversial sale of NFA rice product.

According to De Mesa, Laurel has also ordered NFA Administrator Roderico Bioco and Assistant Administrator for Operations Lemuel Pagayunan “to voluntarily take their leave of absence” while the probe is ongoing.

“This is to a fair conduct of the investigation,” said De Mesa.

Bioco allegedly authorized the sale of the rice stocks, worth P93.75 million, to private rice traders sans undergoing the bidding process.

Attending a gathering of hog raisers in Quezon City over the weekend, Senator Cynthia Villar described the sale of NFA rice to commercial grain traders as “illegal.”

“That’s wrong. That’s against the law. We will investigate this,” Villar told the reporters in an interview, as she vowed she would look into the issue.

Villar is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, which has been leading several inquiries about rice smuggling in the country.