BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Provincial Legal Office (PLO) is investigating five personnel assigned at the Rice Processing Center (RPC) warehouse in Barangay Tabunan, Bago City, Negros Occidental.
A total of 789 bags of fertilizer worth over P2 million allegedly disappeared at the facility.
PLO head Atty. Alberto Nellas Jr. said his office received an incident report on April 3 from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) and the Security and Safety Division on this.
“We are verifying the report…to issue a show-cause order,” said Nellas.
The PLO head said the fertilizers were given to the provincial government as a grant by the Department of Agriculture. The provincial government, in turn, is responsible for distribution among the 31 local government units in the province.
Based on the incident report, the municipal government of Cauayan visited the RPC to get its share of the fertilizer, but none were found.
Nellas said of the five employees in question, two are OPA personnel, while two others are warehouse security personnel.
The PLO is still determining if the two security personnel were assigned under the provincial government’s Security and Safety Office or from a security agency.
Nellas added that based on their initial investigation, there were no signs of forced entry at the facility, and they now suspect that the incident was an “inside job.”
The incident was also reported to the Bago City Police Station./PN
