National Food Authority facade (PNA file photo)
MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) assured the reopening of temporarily closed rice warehouses, following the preventive suspension of 141 officials and employees of the National Food Authority (NFA).
In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said it is necessary to reopen the warehouses amid the peak harvest season.
“We will ensure that all padlocked warehouses will be opened soonest to optimize the impact of NFA’s procurement activities on rice farmers' income as well as secure the maximum volume of palay for buffer stocking,” he said.
Laurel also ordered the transfer of authority over the warehouses from suspended warehouse supervisors to their deputies, so they may facilitate the reopening of the affected facilities.
NFA warehouses may only be operated under the authority of supervisors not included in the six-month preventive suspension order from the Office of the Ombudsman amid the ongoing probe into the alleged improper sale of rice buffer stock, he said.
To date, 23 of 99 suspended warehouse supervisors nationwide have already received a lifting of the order.
This came after the Office of the Ombudsman found "erroneous data" from the list sourced from the NFA.
The NFA has 288 warehouses across the country which need to secure 300,000 metric tons of rice from local farmers.
Its buying price is pegged at PHP23 per kilogram of dry and clean palay, lower than local traders.
Besides NFA warehouses, the NFA earlier said trucks are going around to purchase palay from farmers.
The government has allocated over PHP17 billion for the procurement of rice buffer stock for 2024, both for dry and wet seasons. (PNA)
