House leaders lauded the Marcos administration’s strong resolve in going after erring officials of the National Food Authority (NFA) in light of the preventive suspension of 139 officials and employees over an alleged disadvantageous transaction involving the sale of rice buffer stock.
Deputy minority leader for Communications and ACT-CIS Rep. Erwin Tulfo, House assistant majority leaders Mikaela Angela Suansing of Nueva Ecija and Raul Angelo Bongalon of Ako Bicol Partylist, and House Committee on Labor and Employment chairperson Fidel Nograles of Rizal all hailed the Ombudsman’s suspension of NFA officials and employees, including its administrator Roderico Bioco.
“We very much welcome the action of the administration of President Bongbong Marcos in this preventive suspension of 139 employees from the NFA. I believe this is a strong testament to our President’s commitment to eradicating corruption and demanding accountability from public officials in the government,” Suansing said.
Tulfo said the wrongdoing being ascribed to suspended officials of the NFA runs counter to the efforts of Marcos and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez to bring down the price of rice and ensure the food security of Filipinos.
Both Tulfo and Suansing favor restructuring the mandate of the NFA, citing efforts from past Congresses to study the proposal.
“Perhaps we have to do an extensive evaluation of the mandate of the NFA and whether or not this is being fulfilled at the moment,” Suansing said in a press release March 5. “There has to be an extensive evaluation of whether or not the NFA is currently performing its mandate and whether the scope of their work and responsibility is still appropriate for the times.”
For Nograles, the NFA should not be abolished as it still plays an important role in our country’s efforts to gain food security.
Tulfo agreed, adding that instead of fully dissolving the NFA as an agency, a restructuring of its mandate can be done first. ||
