The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal from the service of Department of Agriculture Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista in connection with a dubious deal with an onion supplier that led to a spike in the price of the commodity last year.
The Ombudsman found Evangelista and John Gabriel Benedict Trinidad III, vice president for operations of Food Terminal Inc., guilty of conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service. They were dismissed for grave misconduct and negligence of duty, respectively.
Moreover, the Ombudsman found probable cause to indict Evangelista, Trinidad, and several others for breach of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) and for "falsification by private individuals and use of falsified documents (Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code)."
The criminal and administrative charges against DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, chief accountant officer-in-charge Lolita Jamela, administrative officer V Eunice Biblanias, and budget division head Juanita Lualhati were dropped due to lack of probable cause and insufficiency of evidence.
Likewise, the Ombudsman ordered the dismissal of both criminal and administrative charges against FTI president Robert Tan, who will stand as a witness for the prosecution.
Back in August, the Ombudsman placed Evangelista, Trinidad, and several others, except for Panganiban and Tan, under preventive suspension in connection with the onion supply shortage in the country's markets, price manipulation, and the dubious procurement of onions by FTI from Bonena Multi-Purpose Cooperative.
Ombudsman records showed the DA entered into a memorandum of agreement with FTI for the Food Mobilization or Kadiwa Food Hub project.
FTI, on the other hand, entered into a letter of agreement with Bonena for the delivery of 8,845 bags (approximately 28 kilograms/bag) of onions as part of the Kadiwa Food Hub.
They were accused of violating RA 3019 and the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184) due to the lack of parameters in the selection of a cooperative that would supply and deliver the onions; the questionable advance payment of 50 percent of the contract price; non-compliance of the MoA; partial implementation of the contract; and doubtful deliveries by Bonena."
The country experienced an agricultural shortage, primarily in onions, which soared to as high as P500 to P700 per kilo during the last quarter of 2022.