BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Aside from 789 sacks of fertilizer, several equipment also disappeared from the Rice Processing Center (RPC) in Bago City, Negros Occidental.
Dr. Edmundo Causing, head of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA), confirmed that three grass cutters worth P20,000 each were reported missing on April 12.
Although initial reports from the Provincial Legal Office (PLO) revealed there were no signs of forced entry when the sacks of fertilizer went missing, the grass cutters were stored in an area where it could have been easily carted away.
The PLO suspects that the disappearance of the 789 sacks of fertilizer was an inside job.
At present, the guards who were supposed to secure the warehouse are currently on status quo, and the remaining items stored in the facility have been secured.
Both incidents are being probed by the Bago City Police Station.
Earlier, PLO head Atty. Alberto Nellas Jr. said they were preparing show cause orders that would be issued to some personnel of the RPC in relation to the missing fertilizers.
Nellas could not disclose yet as to how many people in the facility will be held liable, although it was previously mentioned to include two OPA personnel and three from the provincial government’s Safety and Security Division.
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./PN
