Palace: Evasco out of NFA Council

Cabinet Secretary Leoncio “Jun” Evasco will no longer head the policy setting National Food Authority (NFA) Council, a Malacañang official said Tuesday.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the development came during the NFA Council meeting in Malacañang on Monday when President Rodrigo Duterte reverted the supervision of the NFA and two other agencies to the Department of Agriculture.

Evasco used to supervise the NFA on the strength of Executive Order 1 issued by Duterte in 2016.

The Cabinet Secretary also has supervision over 11 other government agencies.

In a statement, Evasco said he respected the President’s decision and thanked him for giving the opportunity to lead the council, which decides on rice importation matters.

“I have full respect with the decision of the President given the encompassing nature and impact of the National Food Authority on the Filipino people and the farmers,” Evasco said.

“We have put in place several policy guidelines that have provided a more transparent, competitive, inclusive and accountable system of procurement and distribution of NFA rice as a result of more than 20 Council Meetings since my designation by the President as NFA Council Chair.”

He also said the importation of close to 805,200 metric tons of minimum access volume rice without a centavo spent by government is also an attempt by the council and this administration to not add to the liabilities it has incurred since its creation through Presidential Decree 1770.

“Finally we have been able to also make sure that decisions of the council are collegial in nature and bring together the critical and evidence based reports and inputs coming from National Economic and Development Authority, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Trade and Industry and even our banking institutions in the Board, namely the Land Bank fo the Philippines and The Development Bank of the Philippines while building on the reports provided to us by NFA management.”

Evasco urged the new NFA Council chairperson, which is reportedly Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, “to take advantage of what we have started and continue the systems transformation can so that it can take root in NFA.”

“At this critical juncture, today is the best time for NFA to move towards being a true partner of the farmer in delivering better quality services, a true partner of the Filipino poor consumers in providing affordable and quality rice to the public and a true partner of the nation in ensuring food security for rice especially during the periods of calamities and disasters,” he said.

He believed that the NFA can now move towards “ensuring that corrupt, exclusive and debt-ridden practices during the past administrations will not reign in the next transactions to pass."

Evasco, meanwhile, declared that he has never been investigated nor charged for any wrongdoing.

“I can never break the good relationship I have with the President, a relationship we have built through the years with the people we work and serve with,” he said.

Evasco is a former rebel priest who served as the aide of then-Davao City Mayor Duterte. He became the mayor of Maribojoc, Bohol and later served as Duterte's national campaign manager in the May 2016 elections. —ALG, GMA News