THE National Food Authority (NFA) said it has filed a plunder case against one of its employees over the disappearance of rice stocks valued at roughly P53 million.
“On Dec. 19, we filed a case with the Ombudsman. It’s a plunder and malversation case against one of our employees,” NFA Administrator Larry R. Lacson told reporters on the sidelines of the Bureau of Plant Industry’s anniversary event on Wednesday.
He said the agency has yet to receive feedback from the Ombudsman and is awaiting further developments.
The case stems from the reported loss of rice stocks, which was uncovered following intensified audits conducted by the agency. Mr. Lacson earlier said the missing stocks likely dated back to 2020 to 2021 and accumulated over several years.
He said the NFA is also investigating other possible irregularities but declined to give details.
“We are still investigating other cases. I don’t want to pre-empt that. Let’s see the results of our investigation,” he said.
Mr. Lacson said the NFA remains firm in holding erring personnel accountable as part of broader reforms within the agency.
“We’re continuously making our mandate to hold people accountable. Our reform is continuous. It’s continuous because our reform is not only the management and the people. It also entails our overhauling of the standard operating procedures,” he said. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel
