By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

Five personnel assigned to a rice warehouse in Negros Occidental’s Bago City were under investigation after 789 bags of fertilizer worth P2.3 million were reportedly missing.

Atty. Alberto Nellas Jr., Negros Occidental Provincial Legal Office (PLO) head, said based on the incident report received by his office from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) and the Security and Safety Division last April 3, the fertilizers were discovered missing after the Cauayan municipal government visited the Rice Processing Center Warehouse in the city’s Barangay Tabunan to get its share of the fertilizer bags.

However, no bags were found inside the warehouse.

“We are verifying the report, especially the persons involved, for the purpose of issuing a show cause order,” Nellas said.

He said of the five employees involved, two were OPA personnel.

The PLO still determines if the two security personnel are assigned to the provincial government’s Security and Safety Office or under a private security agency.

Based on their initial investigation, Nellas said that there were no signs of forced entry to the warehouse.

They are now suspecting the incident as an “inside job.”

The incident has also been reported to the Bago City Police Station.

Nellas explained that the fertilizers were given to the provincial government as a grant by the Department of Agriculture.

The provincial government, in turn, is responsible for distributing the bags of fertilizer to the 31 local government units./DGB, WDJ