DA starts liquidation process for NFC

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has started the liquidation process for the unviable Northern Foods Corp. (NFC).

In a recent special order, the DA formed a transition management committee (TMC) to facilitate the liquidation of the affairs of the NFC.

The TMC will oversee the winding down activities and such other activities related to the liquidation of the affairs of NFC.

It will also review the plan of liquidation (POL) of NFC and endorse the same to the DA Secretary for submission to the Governance Commission for Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG).

The TMC will likewise coordinate with the GCG on matters related to the approval and implementation of the NFC Plan of Liquidation.

In an interview, DA assistant secretary and deputy spokesperson Rex Estoperez said the TMC would conduct an assessment on the NFC and would recommend actions on the abolition of the state-run firm.

“If it’s not functioning as expected, then it should be abolished. We have problems in processing tomato, supposedly NFC is doing that,” he said.

Ilocos Norte-based NFC supplies tomato paste for manufacturers of tomato sauce or ketchup, as well as to other food chains in the country.

It was a subsidiary of the National Livelihood Development Corp., which later had its assets and liabilities transferred to the Land Bank of the Philippines.

NFC has been incurring losses since its founding in the 1980s, except in 1989, 1995 and 2010.

However, it was only in December 2021 under then president Rodrigo Duterte when government decided to abolish NFC.

Two years after the order, the Commission on Audit said GCG has failed to convene the technical working group (TWG) for NFC’s abolition that resulted in unresolved issues on compensation, liquidation of assets, settlement of liabilities, and further depletion of the financial resources of NFC.

The TWG is composed of the DA and Department Budget and Management, as well as the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Privatization Management Office under the Department of Finance.

But earlier this year, the GCG said it had already started taking necessary steps to abolish NFC amid its non-performance and losses.