ILOILO CITY, Philippines - — Two high-ranking officials under the Provincial Agriculture Office of the Iloilo provincial government are now in trouble for unaccounted sacks of palay seeds and fertilizers.
Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. ordered the filing of charges against Provincial Agriculturist Ildefonso Toledo for command responsibility and Rice Program coordinator Carmelo Oren for failure to account all sacks of palay seeds and fertilizers given to farmers under the provincial government's Rice Development Program since 2010.
The governor's order came after the recommendation of the fact-finding committee, headed by Susette Mamon, to investigate the alleged anomalous operation inside the Rice Research Institute at Pototan town in Iloilo.
Lawyer Dennis Ventilacion of the Provincial Legal Office meanwhile said the two officials will be given due process to explain and defend their sides, but the charges may lead to their suspension or dismissal from service.
Toledo, for his part, insisted he had no direct involvement on the alleged unaccounted farm supplies, although he understood that he has some liabilities over Oren's irresponsible actions. He said he is ready to face the charges and is willing to cooperate with the probe committee.
Oren denied any irregularity in the implementation of the program, saying that the reported unaccounted bags of rice seeds and fertilizers were not missing but were already given to farmer beneficiaries.
He, however, admitted that some of those supplies were not properly documented when giving out to beneficiaries while others were stored at the Western Visayas Integrated Agricultural Research Center in Jaro district of Iloilo City. (FREEMAN)