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NFA administrator did not ask Duterte to fire Usec Valdez, agency says

April 6, 2017 | 5:41pm

NFA administrator did not ask Duterte to fire Usec Valdez, agency says

President Duterte did not name the dismissed official but Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol revealed she was Maia Chiara Halmen Valdez, an undersecretary under the Office of Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco and an appointee of former president Benigno Aquino III.

PCUP / Released

MANILA, Philippines — The National Food Authority (NFA) maintained that the agency is not involved in the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to sack an undersecretary under the Office of Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco.

In an interview, NFA spokesperson Marietta Ablaza said the agency's administrator, Jason Aquino, has nothing to do with the axing of Undersecretary Halmen Valdez, an appointee of former President Benigno Aquino III.

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Duterte has sided with Aquino to not extend rice importation under the minimum access volume (MAV) scheme. Evasco, on the other hand, decided to do otherwise.

Ablaza said Aquino, together with his deputy administrators Tomas Escarez and Ludovico Jarina, had a meeting with Duterte last Monday, April 3, to discuss the country’s rice importation.

"He [Aquino] was able to prove [his point]. So it was him that the president believed in. He was just able to convince the president that the MAV needs no extension,"Ablaza told The STAR.

"I don’t think he suggested or asked for the removal of Valdez. It just so happen that the president believed the stand of the NFA," she added.

Ablaza said Aquino just explained the policies on rice importation during the last meeting with Duterte.

"We don’t know how Administrator Aquino presented the facts to the president. It just showed that the president appreciated the issues and NFA’s stand on importation," she said.

Last month, tension rose between the NFA and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, where the agency falls under after the two parties had a different stand on the MAV importation.

MAV refers to the volume of a specific agricultural product that is allowed to be imported with a lower tariff as a commitment of the Philippines under the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of the World Trade Organization.

The annual MAV importation is being shouldered by the private sector and is an assurance of enough rice supply in the country.

Evasco even said Aquino might soon be removed from his post following repeated defiance of orders.

"The NFA administrator has actively refused to implement the lawful orders of the NFA Council and directives of the CabSec and even released a statement countering the council’s decision that the MAV has been extended," Evasco earlier said.

Apart from Evasco and the NFA, the council is composed of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines, Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry and the National Economic and Development Authority.

While the NFA Council had unanimously decided to agree with Evasco and extend the importation, it was only Valdez who was axed from the post.

Ablaza, on the other hand, did not comment on why Valdez was the only one removed when other members of the council had the same decision as Valdez.

"There are other allegations with Valdez. The president will not just decide without basis or other information. It’s up to him," Ablaza said.

To recall, preventively suspended Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) chief Avelino Andal accused Valdez of instituting a grand plan to undermine the Duterte administration.

Valdez is allegedly influencing Evasco to issue various orders, not just to the PCA but to other agencies including the NFA and the National Irrigation Administration.

Furthermore, Ablaza maintained that trouble is not brewing between the Duterte allies despite the president siding with NFA’s Aquino.

"I believe that everything will be fixed. If the president will go in between, they will be able to talk. It’s impossible to not sort things out because this is for the government," Ablaza said.

Meanwhile, Ablaza is confident that the next set of officials to be chopped from the administration will not come from the NFA.

Duterte on Wednesday announced the more officials are on their way out before the week ends.

"We have no idea [who will be removed.] But we are sure that those will not come from the side of the NFA because the president believes the side of NFA," Ablaza said.