The state-run National Food Authority (NFA) said Friday it is preparing to file a plunder case against a mid-level employee over P53 million in missing rice stock.
NFA administrator Larry Lacson said Thursday they would file the case before the Office of the Ombudsman “very soon” once the NFA completes its case build-up, which started after the agency strengthened its internal audit system last year following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to enforce good governance.
Lacson said audit findings showed a multi-year pattern of stock shortages that began around 2021 and accumulated over time.
Enhanced audits launched in 2023 verified the discrepancies, prompting a full investigation and documentation effort. Lacson said the magnitude of the shortage warrants the filing of a plunder case, alongside corresponding administrative and criminal complaints.
“Since last year, when I assumed, we intensified our internal audit. We are serious in fighting wrongdoing or corruption in the NFA,” Lacson said.
The employee at the center of the probe, whose identity and regional assignment were withheld pending due process, has been transferred to a different post without custodial duties. Lacson said the shortages involved rice stocks previously under the employee’s accountability.
The NFA has so far filed 35 administrative cases, issued 28 preventive suspension orders and released 99 show-cause orders against various personnel in line with its clean-up efforts.
Lacson said that it was possible the employee acted alone, noting a previous case involving an individual who was detained over a separate P30-million shortage. He said that if evidence eventually reveals other people’s involvement, they would also be included in the case.
“We think we have a strong case. We will not delay this. We will send a strong signal that we do not condone these acts,” he said.
The agency is also examining possible modes by which the rice stocks may have been diverted, including unauthorized issuance or movement of stocks for resale.
Investigators have yet to establish the final motive or determine exactly where the missing stocks went, according to Lacson.
The NFA is targeting to end the year with an inventory of 400,000 metric tons as it prepares for the rollout of the Bagong Pilipinas “Bente-Bigas” program in 2026.
