Ombudsman Samuel Martires on Friday revealed that some officials and employees of the National Food Administration who were preventively suspended had taken leaves of absence from work following the investigation into the alleged anomalous rice sales by the agency.

In a radio interview, Martires said the six-month preventive suspensions were unpaid after his office received reports of suspended NFA officials going on leave.

“They cannot go on leave during the period of preventive suspension,” he said in Filipino. “Some went on leave prior to their preventive suspension.”

He said he would write a letter to the NFA human resources manager regarding the situation.

“If there were officials preventively suspended who went on prior, approved leave, that leave is deemed to have been terminated upon receipt of the preventive suspension,” he said. “They can’t use their leave as an excuse.”

Martires said the preventive suspension of NFA officials who would be shown to have had no involvement in the reported improper rice buffer stock sale may be lifted.

Personally served subpoena

Martires personally served a subpoena on the NFA on Thursday requesting a list of the agency’s warehouses involved in selling 75,000 bags of rice to private traders without public bidding.

He said he was forced to personally serve the subpoena after he noticed that since Monday, when investigators issued the document, it appeared that it was just being passed around.

“It was a situation where we felt like we were being passed around like a basketball. The central office told us that the documents were with the regions, but the regions said the documents were with the central office. Who was telling the truth? I don’t know if they were hiding something,” he said in English and Filipino.

On Monday, the Department of Agriculture implemented the Ombudsman’s preventive suspension order against 139 NFA officials and employees.

DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said 99 warehouse supervisors, 26 branch managers, and 12 regional managers, including NFA Administrator Roderico Bioco and Assistant Administrator of Operations John Robert Hermano, were suspended.

New NFA OIC-Administrator

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Wednesday appointed NFA acting assistant administrator for finance and administration Piolito Santos as officer in charge of the agency.