IN light of the allegations of extortion against Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) officials, Agriculture Secretary William Dar on Wednesday gave assurances that his department remains steadfast in its drive against graft and corruption.
In a statement, Dar asserted that the DA remains firm in its policy of “No To Corruption.” “We call upon everyone in the OneDA Family, particularly those who transact business as part of their functions at the DA regulatory agencies to come forward if they have knowledge of any misconduct, especially of corruption, and present evidence so we can act on them with urgency,” he said.
“As secretary of Agriculture, I condemn in the strongest terms smuggling and all other forms of illegal entry of all agricultural, fishery and meat products into the country — as these compete directly with the produce of our farmers, fishers and food producers, depriving them of much-needed livelihood and incomes.”
On Tuesday, the Agriculture chief attended a House of Representatives hearing of the Food and Agriculture Committee to discuss House Resolution 2282, which seeks to streamline the processes of all regulatory agencies in combating agricultural smuggling.
The committee also brought up the specific issue against Jesusa Acustia, chief of the Bureau of Plant Industry Quarantine Office, who had been accused of extortion by the Cambridge Consumers Cooperative. Acustia had been transferred to the Office of the Secretary due to corruption allegations.
Acustia filed an appeal with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in 2017 and was ordered back to the BPI-Quarantine Office after obtaining a favorable ruling with the CSC finding no basis to transfer Acustia to the Office of the Secretary while the investigation was ongoing.
Ma. Wilma Ocampo of Cambridge Consumers Cooperative then filed an extortion complaint at the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office against Ascutia and her team. The complaint of Ocampo was the result of the apprehension of their shipment of two container vans of vegetables, which Ascutia and BPI Quarantine Team found misdeclared. The complaint was dismissed by the Manila City Prosecutor’s Office due to insufficient evidence.
Dar said the DA Legal Service continues its thorough internal investigation of the allegations, including possible lapses and administrative violations. “As part of our thorough investigation on the matter, we studied the complaint and administrative records of Ms. Jesusa Ascutia of the Bureau of Plant Industry Quarantine Office, the one being accused of extortion by Cambridge,” Dar said.
“We reiterate our drive to purge this agency completely of corruption.”
