Agriculture chief cleared of corruption–PACCBy The Manila TimesTHE Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission has cleared Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol of corruption, particularly over rice importation deals with the National Food Authority (NFA). Piñol agreed to open all his bank accounts and financial documents to scrutiny, the agency said. “The PACC gives great importance to this unprecedented action by a top government official and heralds this as a symbol of the success in the campaign of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for transparency ad accountability in government service,” PACC said. One accusation was on his alleged insistence during an NFA Council meeting that the procurement of 203,000 metric tons of imported rice should be done through government-to-government bidding. People could even accuse me of incompetence but nobody could question my dedication to my job and my work ethics,” the secretary added.

Source: Manila Times June 12, 2019 06:33 UTC