By Camille A. Aguinaldo
Malacañang on Friday denied reports that President Rodrigo R. Duterte has ordered the abolition of the National Food Authority (NFA) Council.
In a statement, presidential spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. clarified that the President had only intended to place the NFA and the NFA Council under the Office of the President (OP).
“President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has made the following pronouncements: One, the President expressed his intent to place the National Food Authority (NFA) under the Office of the President,” Mr. Roque said in the statement.
“It’s NFA that will be transferred to Office of the President with the NFA Council,” he added.
The grains agency is currently under the supervision of Cabinet Secretary Leoncio B. Evasco, Jr. as mandated under Executive Order No. 1 in 2016.
Mr. Roque said rice traders during their meeting with the President last Thursday promised to deliver at least 700,000 sacks of rice to replenish NFA stocks. The agency would buy the rice at P38 per kilo which would be sold in the market at P39 per kilo.
He also said Duterte is considering changes in the rice importation approval process.
“The President is considering the approval of rice importation to be centralized under the Office of DA (Department of Agriculture) Undersecretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, subject to the review of the Office of the Executive Secretary,” Mr. Roque said.
Under the present system, the NFA Council has the approval powers to import rice into the country.
In radio interview early Friday, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said Mr. Duterte ordered the abolition of the NFA Council during his dialogue with the traders.
“Last night during the forum led by the President with the country’s rice traders, he announced that he has abolished the NFA Council. And he will transfer NFA and other agencies related to agriculture that (were) removed from the DA will be returned under the Department of Agriculture,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English.
The council, also headed by Mr. Evasco, consists of NFA administrator Jason Y. Aquino as well as members from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank), Department of Finance (DoF), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Office of the Executive Secretary and a representative from the farmer sector.
The grains agency came under fire after it announced its depleting rice buffer stock less than the required 15-day reserve. Messrs. Evasco and Aquino were also reportedly in disagreement with addressing the buffer stock shortage.
Mr. Roque added that the President has also ordered the removal of all Land Transportation Office (LTO) officials and personnel assigned in the truck weighing station in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya, due to highway extortion activities following the complaints of truck owners.
Mr. Piñol said in the radio interview, as also posted on his Facebook page, that truck operators were forced to pay P500 to P1,000 per truck when they pass through Aritao LTO’s truck-weighing scale to avoid delay and inconvenience. About 1,000 trucks were said to pass this area daily.

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