President Aquino receives new envoys from Switzerland, Chile, Cambodia
President Benigno C. Aquino III received the credentials of three foreign ambassadors who called on him in Malacañang this morning.
First to arrive at 10 a.m. was His Excellency Ivo Sieber, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Swiss Confederation, followed by His Excellency Roberto Mayorga Lorca, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Chile at 10:30 a.m.
Last to arrive was His Excellency Hos Sereythonh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Cambodia, who presented his credentials at 11 a.m.
All three foreign dignitaries were accorded arrival honors at the Palace grounds. They signed the presidential guestbook before being ushered to the Music Room for the presentation.
Each of the ambassadors then met privately with the President.
Joining the President was Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo.
NFA poised to investigate rice over-importation
The National Food Authority (NFA) will conduct an intensive inquiry into the reported over-importation of rice as divulged by President Benigno C. Aquino III in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday.
In a news briefing in Malacañang, NFA administrator Lito Banayo said the probe will involve a system and management audit meant to identify the problems inherited by the food agency from the previous administration.
Banayo said he has requested Secretary of Justice Leila de Lima for assistance upon the advice of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) director Magtanggol Gatdula for the audit.
Apart from the Justice department and the NBI, Banayo is also tapping some lawyers, financial experts and other professionals to help in the investigation.
Banayo has also asked Jesus Posadas, former vice president for purchasing of San Miguel Corp. and a commodities trading expert, to head the probe.
”I am minded to institute a systems and management audit of my agency to ensure that both systems and personnel are functioning properly according to our mandate,” Banayo told reporters.
In his SONA, President Aquino said the NFA imported 900,000 metric tons (MT) of rice in 2004, even as the shortage was estimated at only 117,000 MT. In 2007, the NFA again over-imported, buying 1.827 MT to address a shortfall of only 589,000 MT.
The President said the excess supply was left to rot in warehouses, while the government had to deal with a debt of P171.6 billion in rice importation costs as of May 2010.
Banayo identified specific areas of concern for the probers. These are:
• Overstocked warehouses;
• P177 billion debt as of June 30, 2010;
• Spoilage of the imported rice and the possibility of corruption;
• Government inability to help the farmers;
• Allegations of irregularities; and
• Reports of Smuggling.
The probers were also tasked to look into the purchase and importation protocol insofar as timing and volume are concerned; inventory system to prevent waste and spoilage of stocks; and methods and procedure of selling the stocks to ensure they are sold efficiently.
