BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Provincial Legal Office (PLO) of Negros Occidental is preparing show cause orders that would be issued to some personnel of the Rice Processing Center in Bago City in relation to the disappearance of 789 bags of fertilizer stored in the facility.
PLO head Atty. Alberto Nellas Jr. said he will consult with Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz prior to issuing the show cause orders.
Nellas could not disclose yet as to how many people in the facility will be held liable over the missing fertilizers, although it was previously mentioned to include two personnel from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) and three from the provincial government’s Safety and Security Division.
He added they are not ruling out the possibility that the disappearance of the fertilizers was an inside job.
Based on the incident report received by the PLO, the fertilizers were discovered missing after the municipal government of Cauayan visited the RPC to get its share of the fertilizer.
The P2.3 million worth of fertilizers were given to the provincial government as a grant by the Department of Agriculture. The provincial government, in turn, is responsible for its distribution among the 31 local government units in the province.
Initial investigation revealed there were no signs of forced entry at the facility.
The incident is also being probed by the Bago City Police Station./PN