NFA Council appoints OIC administrator 

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Wednesday announced the appointment of Piolito Santos as officer-in-charge administrator of the National Food Authority (NFA).

Santos is NFA’s assistant administrator for finance and administration.

Tiu Laurel said the NFA Council appointed Santos as OIC of the rice buffer stocking agency.

Santos’ appointment came on the heels of the preventive suspension imposed by the Ombudsman against 139 officials and employees, including NFA Administrator Roderico Bioco, in connection with the ongoing investigation on the controversial disposition of rice buffer stocks in a transaction allegedly disadvantageous to the government.

“The NFA is a very important government agency, especially during calamities and other disasters as well as in the lives of millions of poor Filipinos. We cannot lose heart during this challenging time for the NFA and DA family,” the Agriculture chief said.

Similarly, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa has assured that the NFA will continue operating despite the suspension of over 100 officials and employees about alleged irregularities in the sale of rice stock in government-run warehouses.

Santos is a career service officer who has spent four decades with the NFA and is scheduled to retire in May.  

He has a bachelor's degree in Agriculture Business major in Agriculture Economics from the Isabela State University and a masters degree in business administration and a doctorate in Organization Development and Planning from Northeastern College.

The passage of the Rice Tarrification Law in 2019 removed NFA's rice trading function and limited it to maintaining a national buffer stock equivalent to 300,000 metric tons of rice.—LDF, GMA Integrated News