THE OMBUDSMAN lifted on Tuesday the preventive suspension of 72 National Food Authority (NFA) warehouse supervisors implicated in the alleged irregular sale of rice buffer stocks.
“There is insufficient ground to believe that their continued stay in office may prejudice the investigation of the case filed against them,” the Ombudsman said in its order.
Covered by the order are the NFA warehouse supervisors in Regions 3, 4-A, 4-B, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Their suspension came from charges of Grave Misconduct, Gross Neglect of Duty, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service on selling NFA rice to select sellers at a low price and without public bidding or authorization from the NFA Council.
Last March 1, the Ombudsman placed 139 NFA supervisors under a six-month preventive suspension for allegedly being involved in the irregular sale of rice buffer stocks to specific traders. The order has since been lifted for 23 of them. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana
