Senator Imee Marcos is pushing a legislative inquiry into the reported sale of National Food Authority (NFA) buffer stock rice at low prices to certain traders.
Under Senate Resolution No. 940 filed on Monday, March 4, Marcos cited the complaint of NFA Assistant Administrator for Operations Lemuel Pagayunan that NFA Administrator Rod Bioco had previously "issued several memoranda allowing the sale of 75,000 bags of deteriorating or aging NFA rice to certain traders.”
LOOK: Pagbebenta ng NFA na bigas sa mas murang halaga sa mga rice traders, pinaiimbestigahan sa Senado | via @RaymundDadpaas, DZRH News pic.twitter.com/h755IzcDQ0
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Pagayunan also reportedly stated that the bags of milled rice, which did not undergo public bidding, were instructed to be "rebagged in containers without NFA markings prior to selling them as commercial rice."
According to Marcos, the Commission on Audit in an audit observation memorandum reported "the sale of 349,100.00 kilograms of well-milled rice at Php 25/kilogram to private individuals and rice millers, amounting to Php 8.727 million."
"Now, therefore, be it resolved as it is hereby resolved, directing the appropriate Senate committee to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation into the irregular disposition and sale of the National Food Authority (NFA) repackaged rice stocks to certain rice traders at low prices," the senator furthered.
The Office of the Ombudsman has already suspended Bioco, NFA Assistant Administrator for Operations John Robert Herman, 137 regional managers, and warehouse supervisors over their alleged involvement in the controversial rice scam.
