NFA execs sued for malversation, graft over alleged misuse of P5.1B

Top officials of the National Food Authority are facing complaints for technical malversation and graft before the Ombudsman for allowing the use of P5.1 billion intended to stabilize the price and supply of rice and corn to pay for loans.

The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) charged NFA administrator Jason Aquino and accounting services department manager Gerry Ambrosio for technical malversation and violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The complaint of SINAG, an umbrella group of 32 farmer and agricultural organizations, banked on the findings of the Commission on Audit that the NFA spent P3.01 billion its Food and Security Program subsidy to offset previous guarantee fees and contribution to Debt Reserve Funds, while P2.09 billion went to loan payments. 

The program was meant to purchase of palay from farmers, rice distribution and importation, grains business licensing and registration, and buffer stocking.

However, the COA had said the diversion of funds  led to shortfalls of 124,969 metric tons in palay purchase and 429,256 metric tons for rice distribution.

The buffer stock of the rice supply was also eight days below the 15-day average daily inventory and 25 days behind the 30-day buffer during lean months.

The COA further said the deficit resulted to higher rice prices, unavailability of NFA rice in the market, and lower inventory in various NFA warehouses.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Office, SINAG president Rosendo Ong So said the price of rice and corn rose by around P2 from March 2017 to July 2018 during the time the NFA was paying off its debt.

"The diversion of the funds have clearly contributed to the substantial across the board escalation of the prices of rice and corn. This increase has obviously affected the industry negatively and has caused undue injury to the public in general," So said in the complaint.

GMA News Online is still trying to get comment from NFA officials as of posting time.

NFA management had told the COA that it had to use the government subsidy to lessen its expenses on interest and documentary stamp taxes of its "high level of outstanding debts."

It also said depositing the amount in a bank would only incur an interest between 0.10 to 0.25 percent compared to 2.5-percent savings by paying its debt.

So said claims of good faith were not enough for Aquino and Ambrosio to escape liability, saying diverting the funds from its intended purpose was illegal under the General Appropriations Act.

"The payment of maturing obligations is not even of noble intent, but rather a cowardly move to cover their mismanagement of funds that should have been used for these obligations which are wholly unrelated to the purpose for which the fund was allocated to NFA in the first place," So said in the complaint. —NB, GMA News