139 at NFA suspended

The Department of Agriculture implemented on Monday the preventive suspension order of the Office of the Ombudsman against 139 officials and employees of the National Food Administration over the sale of rice buffer stocks to traders allegedly without bidding.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the suspended NFA officials included Administrator Roderico Bioco, Assistant Administrator for Operations John Robert Hermano, and several regional managers and warehouse supervisors around the country.

“I have been in contact with the Office of the Ombudsman since this controversy erupted. I also created a special panel of internal investigators to determine culpability and see how we can prevent it from happening again in the future,” he said.

Following the suspension of the NFA head, Laurel said he would temporarily take charge of the agency. He said it would be business as usual for all NFA officials and personnel not served suspension orders.

Laurel said Bioco had earlier filed a leave of absence “to allow investigators a free hand to undertake the probe,” adding that the investigation will go as far back as 2019 at least.

“The preventive suspension will allow the Ombudsman to secure all the documents and other evidence relating, but not limited, to the sale of rice buffer stocks that was greatly disadvantageous to the government,” he said, assuring that the Ombudsman and DA were coordinating in the probe.

He said he could not discuss the matter further since the Ombudsman and the DA were already investigating, vowing to immediately inform the public about the results of the parallel probes.