You have to hand it to OIC Administrator Larry Lacson, the current chief of the National Food Authority (NFA), for astutely parrying the accusations of some lawmakers that the NFA should not be given the authority to trade in rice (buying and selling) because there are corrupt personnel in its roster.
"Naiiintindihan nating mabuti 'yan kasi hindi naman namin pwedeng ipagkaila na may experiences in the past na mayroong mga nanamantala or nagkaroon ng kaunting kalokohan. So, kaya hindi natin sila masisisi. (We understand that because we cannot deny that there were experiences in the past when people took advantage or were engaged in some mischief. So, we can't blame them)," Lacson said during the Bagong Pilipinas public forum, referring to the doubts of several senators and congressmen on the honesty of some NFA personnel.
Lacson assured the members of Congress that he is doing something to cleanse the authority of shenanigans. Meanwhile, he proposed that the Department of Agriculture (DA) should be allowed to assume the power to intervene in the local rice market if lawmakers have doubts about the National Food Authority.
This, after senators called on DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to assume the task during a public hearing of the Congressional Oversight Committee on Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization on Tuesday.
Giving the DA the authority will somehow give the government the ability to intervene in the local market in case there are unusual spikes in rice prices, Lacson added.
“Because right now, we think that's what's happening and we can't do anything. The government's hands are tied when there are conditions like this, which is not really good for the whole country because it is prone to exploitation," Lacson said.
The doubts from senators stemmed from the alleged anomalous sale of NFA rice to select traders at a low price, and without public bidding or authorization from the NFA Council. Lacson said he is currently pushing for reforms within NFA and assured that he will do his best to eradicate corruption in the agency.
An evidence of these effort is the recent order of the Office of the Ombudsman to reinstate 72 warehouse supervisors who have been cleared of various charges against them.
Administrator Lacson is happy that the warehouse supervisors are back to work, since the reinstatement meant an additional 72 more human power in the operation of the agency. It is well to note that 23 NFA personnel had been already cleared after the Ombudsman found “erroneous data” on the list provided by the Department of Agriculture.
To date, there are still 45 NFA employees who are still suspended, and Lacson is hopeful that they, too, will be cleared.
Lacson has appealed to the Ombudsman, saying the six-month preventive suspension "affected or paralyzed" the operations of NFA warehouses amid its palay procurement for buffer stocking.
Meanwhile, NFA regional field offices reported "impressive" procurement volume through the help of a new price range scheme (PRICERs).
"The National Food Authority (NFA) Region III has achieved an impressive 100.43 percent of its target (454,000 bags) during the implementation of PRICERs from April 22 to May 12, with 455,955 bags of palay procured," the NFA Central Luzon said in a separate statement.
The NFA Camarines Sur has also hit a 273-percent accomplishment for the first two weeks of May alone, surpassing its target for the month with 60,154 bags of palay. More procurements are expected to come from other NFA warehouses in La Union, Bulacan, and Davao, among many others.
The NFA targets to procure 300,000 metric tons (MT) under PRICERs, with a higher price range set at P17 to P23 per kilogram for fresh or wet palay (from PHP16 to PHP19/kg); and P23 to P30/kg for clean and dry palay (from P19 to P23/kg).
We are happy that little by little, the NFA is regaining whatever was lost in its reputation and good image as the country’s principal grain provider.
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