NFA ordered to submit documents on P93 million rice sale

MANILA, Philippines — Ombudsman Samuel Martires on Thursday went to the National Food Authority main office in Quezon City to personally serve a subpoena that would compel the agency to submit several documents in connection with the alleged anomalous sale of P93.75 million worth of NFA rice to two traders.

“I personally went to the NFA to obtain the data that we need in our investigation, such as the list of warehouses of milled rice or bigas. Because we cannot guess where these sacks of rice were stored, where they were delivered or where this rice delivered to traders were sourced from,” Martires said over dzBB.

Martires said the requested documents will be crucial to his office’s ongoing investigation of NFA Administrator Roderico Bioco and 138 other NFA officials and employees facing administrative charges of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

The charges stemmed from the alleged illegal sale of 75,000 bags of rice, part of the country’s buffer stock, to two traders for a total of P93.75 million.

The ombudsman had earlier ordered the six-month preventive suspension without pay of Bioco and the 138 other NFA officials and employees as it found “strong evidence showing their guilt” of the administrative charges.

At a press conference on Monday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Bioco and the other officials and employees were already placed under preventive suspension in compliance with the ombudsman’s order.

Laurel said those suspended include NFA assistant administrator for operations John Robert Hermano, 12 regional managers, 26 branch managers and 99 warehouse supervisors all over the country.

During the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing, Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa said that Laurel already directed NFA officer-in-charge Piolito Santos to prepare all the documents needed by the ombudsman.

“Our Internal Audit Service and the independent investigating panel (will assist) so that all the necessary papers will be made available, as well as all the people involved,” De Mesa said.

On Wednesday, the NFA Council appointed Santos, the concurrent NFA