Calls abolishing NFA opposed

The House of Representatives will investigate the “improper” sale by the National Food Authority of its rice buffer stock even if the Office of the Ombudsman is already looking into the matter.

The Ombudsman placed 139 NFA officials, led by Administrator Roderico Bioco, and personnel under preventive suspension, the Department of Agriculture said Monday.

House Agriculture and Food Committee chair Rep. Mark Enverga and Abono Partylist Rep. Robert Estrella sought a congressional probe into the reported sale of 75,000 bags of rice to traders without public bidding.

The committee’s vice chairperson, Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing, welcomed the Ombudsman’s decision but turned down calls for the abolition of the NFA.

“There have been several discussions in previous Congresses in terms of restructuring the NFA. Perhaps we have to do an extensive evaluation of the mandate of the NFA and whether or not this is being fulfilled at the moment,” Suansing said at a press conference on Thursday.

Ako Bicol Rep. Angelo Bongalon joined Suansing in opposing the scrapping of the agency. “There is no problem with the agency. The problem is with the public officials sitting there,” he said.

“The very reason why the NFA was created is to help our country produce rice that is affordable to the Filipino people, and maybe that’s where we will focus and come up with the best solution so that we can perform our mandate pursuant to the law that created the NFA,” Bongalon said.

Deputy Majority Leader Erwin Tulfo, however, is keen on filing criminal charges against the 139 NFA officials and personnel who were accountable for the sale.

The “aging” and “deteriorating” bags of rice were bought by the NFA as palay at P23 per kilo and sold to middlemen at P25 per kilo. The traders, in turn, sold the grains to the public at about P50 a kilo, according to a ranking NFA official.

In their resolution calling for the investigation, Enverga and Estrella cited reports that the buyers of the rice stocks were pre-selected and that the sale lacked the authorization of the NFA Council.

The lawmakers also noted reports that the rice traders re-bagged and sold the rice at much higher prices, like P50 per kilo, or at a hundred percent markup.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., who has temporarily taken over the helm at the NFA, had created a panel to investigate the rice sale.