AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel Piñol has accused National Irrigation Administration Administrator Florencio Padernal and other holdover officials in derailing President Rodrigo Duterte’s Free Irrigation Program.
Piñol had told a budget hearing that irrigation fees be removed from the expenses of farmers seeking irrigation aid from government.
But Piñol said the additional P4 billion intended to cover the Irrigation Service Fees were not included in the NIA budget for 2017.
“After the Committee hearing, the DA officials and the other officials of the four agriculture-related agencies —NIA, National Food Authority, Philippine Coconut Authority and the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA) —were invited to a caucus by Appropriations Committee vice chairperson Rep. Magnolia Antonino,” Piñol said.
“It was there when I realized that the opposition to the Free Irrigation Policy of the President came within the NIA itself, especially among officials who are holdovers from the previous administration, including the holdover administrator Florencio Padernal,” he added.
“During the caucus, he just sat there looking like a boy who just committed a mischief, edgy and uncomfortable.”
Piñol said the same NIA administrator earlier told him in a transition meeting “that giving Free Irrigation Water to the Filipino rice farmers would be very difficult.”
“When I found this out, I immediately manifested during the hearing my position as Agriculture Secretary that Free Irrigation is a commitment of President Duterte to the Filipino farmers and that it must fulfilled,” he added.
Meanwhile, in Davao City, two regional directors of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board had left the agency after the regional visit of the board, said chairman Martin Delgra.
Region 10 director Mandangan Darimbang filed his early retirement effective August 31 while Region 11 Director Benjamine Go resigned August 24 effective immediately.
Delgra said after he visited the regional offices and confronted the officials, the two Regional Directors left the offices.
But he said no charges have been filed against the two officials since their audit is continuing.
“Although they have left the office, they are still subject to usual accountability in the office,” he said.
He introduced the OIC regional director of Region 11 lawyer Teresita Yñiguez.
Three inspectors he identified as John Acosta, Reynante Famoso and Ernesto Abad had their services terminated after they admitted bribing the operators, he said.
Delgra said authorities already have two boxes of documents that will be part of their audit to investigate if corruption was in their ranks.
LTFRB board member lawyer Aileen Lizada said “we see a lot of lost souls in LTFRB.”
In Manila, Piñol proposed the NIA should be brought back under the supervision of the DA, after President Aquino placed the agency along with three others under the supervision of the Presidential Adviser on Food Security.
The NIA receives 60 percent of the total collection from the Irrigation Service Fees by the irrigators’ associations to pay for the salaries of its employees.
Piñol had proposed that the NIA charter be amended to bring the agency back to its old status as a service agency rather than a government corporation as he asked lawmakers for an additional P4 billion added on to the NIA budget to cover the ISF collections for 2017.
Meanwhile, Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon ordered the immediate reassignment to Sulu of a police official who is facing graft charges.
Faeldon identified the official as Customs Special Police Capt. Arnel Baylosis, detailed to the sub-port of Jolo, following the corruption case filed against him by the Department of Justice. With Vito Barcelo