“The administrator should issue the import permits only after he has received favorable endorsements from his deputies,” the source said. “That he issued the import permits to three importers absent the recommendations from the responsible officials is a clear violation of the NFA guidelines. He instructed the director of GMOD to prepare the corresponding import permits. Documents obtained by The Manila Times last week indicated that the NFA was primarily the reason why many importers failed to meet the February 28 deadline. Copies of the letters from importers sent to Aquino and to the NFA Council asking for extension, showed that NFA officials were either sleeping on their jobs or insensitive to the plight of the importers, or both.

Source: Manila Times May 09, 2017 16:18 UTC