COA to NFA: Put up CCTVs vs birds, pests

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Audit (COA) has recommended the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and other structures in National Food Authority (NFA) rice warehouses to address theft and pilferage.

State auditors, however, identified the thieves as birds, insects and rodents and said the NFA should also install watchtowers, bridges, safety nets or screens to prevent “crime,” according to a 2014 report released recently.

“In keeping with the NFA’s functions of preserving quantity and quality of grains in warehouses and avoiding loss of stocks through undesirable reasons, advance technology such as CCTVs and other structures, i.e., watchtowers, bridges and safety nets or screens become useful tools in preventing theft and pilferage and damage to stocks caused by birds, insects and rodents. However, the CCTVs and structures were not installed to monitor warehousing activities or protect stocks inside the warehouses,” the audit team said.

The COA report stated “the recording of the activities in the warehouses through the use of CCTVs would help in the identification or detection of any undesirable actions of inside and outside forces with ill motives.”

Records show that the presence of birds, insects and rodents inside the warehouses because of unscreened doors and vents caused rice stocks to be damaged.