Congress must set up the necessary measures to safeguard the P9 billion allocation for the buffer stocking program of the National Food Authority, which is currently under scrutiny for allegations of corruption.

Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. said that aside from the P9 billion, Congress also set aside P5 billion for the “construction, repair, and rehabilitation of NFA warehouses” to boost its buffer stock program.

“We are counting on the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization to conduct inquiries and draw up recommendations to promote greater transparency and accountability in the buffer stocking operations,” Campos said.

The lawmaker made the call in the wake of the controversy over the sale of a massive rice buffer sold by the NFA to private rice traders, which prompted a congressional inquiry.

On Thursday, the House Committee on Agriculture and Food kicked off the probe, which discovered that not only 75,000 “aging” and “deteriorating” bags of buffer stock rice were sold to private firms but over 150,000 bags.

The panel’s chairman, Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga, said they support the Ombudsman’s position that the transaction was plagued by anomalies. This is because the supplies, allegedly re-bagged by the traders and sold for P50 per kilo, or about twice the acquisition price, were found still fit for human consumption.

The buffer stocking program maintains an inventory of rice that may be released during calamities, fortuitous events, or shortfalls in production.