THE National Food Authority (NFA) Council has appointed a Department of Agriculture (DA) director as the agency’s officer in charge (OIC).
In a Facebook post, the NFA said that Larry del Rosario Lacson was granted the rank of deputy administrator on March 11 through Special Order No. 371 signed by DA Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr.
Mr. Lacson is a DA director IV and is a former director of the Bureau of Plant and Industry and a senior vice-president of the Texicon Group of Companies.
“A graduate of BS Agriculture with masters and doctorate degrees in agronomy and crop science, Mr. Lacson is a sanitary and phytosanitary expert and a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization-trained Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation facilitator,” the NFA said.
Dozens of NFA staff were suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman due to irregularities in the disposition of rice held as reserves by the NFA.
The Ombudsman has so far lifted the suspension of at least 24 NFA employees out of the 141 suspended.
In a separate statement, Mr. Laurel said: “the NFA Council unanimously appointed Director Larry Lacson as OIC-administrator to make sure the agency runs smoothly, especially during this harvest season.”
“The NFA is an integral part of our effort to ensure food security,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
