A division head of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) who resigned is no longer within the reach of the provincial government for administrative action, Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Tuesday, August 22.
Lacson had dismissed Agriculturist 1 Herminigildo Basilio from the service for the missing 789 bags of fertilizer worth P2,267,000 from the provincial government’s Rice Processing Center (RPC) warehouse in Bago City.
Basilio said he only followed the instructions of his division chief, Alnel “Potchie” Taba, OPA Technology Development and Agribusiness Division head, to facilitate receiving 1,920 bags of fertilizer from Juantong Agri-Ventures at around 3 p.m. on July 4, 2022.
The fertilizers were completely unloaded to the warehouse and were acknowledged by the watchman/guard on duty and recorded in their logbook, he said.
Basilio said he was being made a scapegoat because he was no longer in charge of the Rice Processing Center when the 789 bags of fertilizer allegedly went missing in October 2022.
In fact he provided the names of the persons who should have been included in the investigation, if such was made to uncover the truth, Basilio said.
Basilio said he will file an appeal to his dismissal before the Civil Service Commission to ensure an impartial probe.
Lacson, in reaction to Basilio’s saying that he was being made a scapegoat, said “there is a process, he can always file a motion for reconsideration. I advise him, instead of explaining to media, explain it in the proper venue”.
Lacson said most of the cases filed by the provincial government against its personnel are administrative in nature, they don’t really want to file criminal cases.
The division head named by Basilio had already resigned so he is not within the reach of the provincial government administratively, Lacson said.
Basilio, in response to the governor’s statement, said “the governor holds the highest position in the province, instead of using his power to persecute innocent employees, he could use his power and resources to hold the truly accountable people accountable.”
On whose orders did that much fertilizer “disappear”? he asked.
Lacson said he recognizes that the OPA is a problematic department as there have also been problems during the past administrations.
“But we’re trying to correct it. Precisely why we have investigations like this because we will not be sitting down if we know that there is an alleged anomaly happening,” he said.*