By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Negros Occidental Provincial Legal Office (PLO) have already issued show cause orders (SCOs) to two personnel of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) in relation to the disappearance of 789 sacks of fertilizers at the Negros First Rice Processing Center warehouse in Bago City’s Barangay Tabunan.

PLO head Atty. Alberto Nellas Jr., named the two OPA personnel as agriculturists Joy Cardinal and Hermenegildo Basilio.

According to Nellas, based on their investigation, the custody, possession and safeguarding of the fertilizers inside the warehouse falls under the jurisdiction of OPA, as the security personnel were only ordered to guard the warehouse.

The SCOs were issued last April 27, but were only served to the two personnel on Tuesday, May 2.

“Wala pa man formal charge, so waay pa man ‘ta may na-issue nga preventive suspension order,” Nellas said.

He further explained that the two OPA personnel must reply to the SCOs within five days of receipt.

“Kilanlan gid to explain ngaa sang pagkuha sang Municipality of Cauayan sang [ila fertilizers], waay sila ka-withdraw kag sang pag-imbentaryo, nabal-an nga 789 na ka bilog [nga bags] ang nadula,” Nellas said.

He added that the two involved personnel have already been removed from the Negros First Rice Processing Center and have already been reassigned.

Based on the incident report received by the PLO, the fertilizers were discovered missing after the Cauayan local government unit visited the warehouse to get its share of the fertilizer bags worth P2.3 million.

They were given as a grant by the Department of Agriculture, and the provincial government was responsible for distributing them among the 31 local government units./DGB, WDJ