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November 13, 2014 - May 31, 2015 ,

200 Days: An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy

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A report on the first 200 days of Renan B. Dalisay as Administrator of the National Food Authority.

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Page 1: 200 Days: An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy

November 13, 2014 - May 31, 2015

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Page 2: 200 Days: An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy
Page 3: 200 Days: An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy

The First 200 DaysAdministrator Renan B. Dalisay

An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

An Activist, Progressive,

Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

Appointed last November, after a seeming revolving door of administrators in the last few years, Renan Dalisay says he wants to look beyond his term and create in this vital agency a work ethic and outlook among employees that will not only preserve its main mis-sion of ensuring the country’s food security but also redefine its mission.

Rina Jimenez-David, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 20 February 2015

I N T R O D U C T I O N “

ADMINISTRATOR Renan B. Dalisay was appointed by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III as a member of the National Food Authority (NFA) Council on November 13, 2014. He was subsequently elected by the Council

as NFA Administrator, with the specific vision and mandate of implementing much-needed reforms in an agency that plays a central role in ensuring the food security of the country.

Upon Administrator Dalisay’s appointment, Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Secretary Francis N. Pangilinan had this to say about a trusted and ever-reliable member of his team from his days at the Senate: “What we need in the NFA is a leader who can make things happen and implement the clear directions, sound policies, and reform agenda that the NFA Council and the office of Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization (OPAFSAM) have set.”

In his first 200 days, Administrator Dalisay has proven that he is more than up to the demanding task required of him. Low-key, proactive and tireless, the new Ad-ministrator has taken his hands-on management style to the NFA and quickly laid the foundations for the implementation of programs that have greatly improved, and are still improving, the agency’s capacity to fulfill its mandate: food security for the country’s 100 million citizens.

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‘BIGAS’ stands for:

• Bigger community - means involving not just the NFA’s traditional stakeholders - farmers, millers, traders and consumers - but also food se-curity advocates and the academe, considering food quality and security are collective national goals.

• Internal reforms and modernization - means streamlining the agency through the computerization of NFA’s records and operations, improving employee morale, and the hiring of a younger, more dynamic workforce.

BIGAS: Providing the Blueprint for the NFA’s Future

An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

Administrator Dalisay began his term fully cognizant of his job’s challenges. With just over a year to implement

much-needed reforms in the rice agency, he quickly put in place a five-point program that clearly set the direction for his incumbency. This program, in broad strokes, is captured in the acronym “BIGAS”.

• Global competitiveness - means improving the NFA’s reputation and reach by raising its standards of performance and accountability.

• Availability, affordability, and accessibility of rice - means ensuring the Filipinos’ staple food is available and accessible, and at an affordable price particularly to the poor. This also means maintaining a sufficient buffer stock through our the country to ensure year-round availability of the nation’s staple food, especially in times of calamities and disasters.

• Sustainable development - means ensuring that reforms initiated today will last beyond the term of this administration and transform the agency into more than just a warehousing or trading agency.

Towards this end, Administrator Dalisay has been travelling throughout the country, visiting NFA offices and warehouses, holding dialogues with NFA employees belonging to various levels of the food agency’s bureaucracy - from regional managers to various stake-holders - to better acquaint himself with the issues and challenges. Active personnel engagement allows him to fully grasp the nuances of governing the NFA. He has also made unannounced visits to markets all over the Philippines, permitting him access and making him touch base with price retailers and ordinary consumers.

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

When Administrator Dalisay assumed office in November 2014, the country was already beginning to experience

a downward trend in the average retail prices of regular and well-milled rice. The trend continued from November to December despite experiencing the more than five billion peso damage to the agri-culture sector brought by two powerful storms that hit the country in December –- Typhoon Ruby and Typhoon Seniang. The damage to rice crops had little effect on rice prices, as these continued to drop from December 2014 to May 2015.

Aside from decreasing rice prices, the NFA has continued to provide affordable alternatives to commercial rice, selling NFA regular-milled rice at 27 pesos per kilo and NFA well-milled rice at 32 pesos per kilo.

Available,Accessible and Affordable Rice: Rice Prices in the First 200 Days

For the first 200 days of Administrator Dalisay’s term, the average retail prices of regular and well-milled rice have stabilized and slowly dropped – consistent with the BIGAS blueprint which prioritizes the availability and accessibility of affordable rice.

AVERAGE RETAIL PRICES OF REGULAR AND WELL MILLED RICE

REGULAR MILLED RICE WELL MILLED RICE

JunW3 JulW3 AugW3 SepW3 OctW3 NovW3 DecW3 JanW3 FebW335

36.75

38.5

40.25

42

43.75

45.5

39

40 40 4140

4039 39

38

42

4343434344

4444

43

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

Stepping Up Availability:Increasing NFA Rice Distribution

The current NFA admin-istration has

stepped up efforts to increase the availabil-ity of NFA rice in the market to provide con-sumers––particularly the poor––with more affordable and quality alternatives to com-mercial rice. Admin-istrator Dalisay has visited public markets around the country to check if NFA rice was actually being sold by authorized retailers.

These initiative have borne fruit. The NFA has surpassed its distribution targets from November 2014 to February 2015. The agency increased its distribution targets by 130 percent for the said period, from 297,053 MT, (5,941,060 bags) to 387, 205 MT (7,744,100 bags). The dis-tribution target accomplishment from January 2015 to May 2015 is 67%, with actual rice distribution pegged at 325,476.85 MT (6,509,537 bags).

Rice was sold through ac-credited retailers and distribution outlets nationwide. The NFA also opened up more rice outlets in Metro Manila and other urban areas, tap-ping even parishes and schools as distribution channels. This led to better access by low-income families to cheap but quality rice supplies.

As a result of these actions, NFA rice became more visible in the market– a factor that has largely con-

tributed to the downward trend of the average retail rice prices from November 2014 to May 2015.

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

The NFA is mandated by law to maintain a buffer stock of 15 days at any

given time during the year and 30 days for the duration of the lean season. The agency, ideally, should depend on local procure-ment to achieve the buffer stock mandate. However farmgate prices of palay are usually higher than the NFA support price. Thus, the agency in previous years had to resort to rice impor-tation.

As of May 2015, the country’s total rice inventory (TRE) stood at 623,600 MT (12,472,000 bags) that is good to last for 20 days base on the coun-try’s daily rice consumption rate (DCR) of 31,000 MT (620,000 bags). Measures undertaken during the stewardship of Ad-ministrator Dalisay contributed to the buffer stocks now being enjoyed by the agency.

The NFA has intensi-fied its local palay procurement activities for the second cropping season. This has given the local farmers a ready market for their produce at government set price. In addition, local farmers are provided with additional incen-tives to entice them to sell their palay to the NFA.

Administrator Dalisay recently witnessed the palay pro-curement activities in Mindoro Oriental and Mindoro Occiden-tal, which are among the top palay-producing provinces in the

Buffer Stock, Private Importation,& Warehouse Rehabilitation

country.Mindoro Occidental tops the list of provinces with high procure-ment accomplish-ment. The NFA local office has bought a total of 398,512 bags of palay out of the tar-geted 500,000 bags equivalent to 79.7% accomplishment as of April 2015.

On a daily average, NFA - San Jose buys 20,000 to 25,000 bags from local farmers. Of the targeted 3,796,900 bags to be procured, by the agency has so far bought 738,244 bags nationwide as of April 2015. There are about 330 buying stations and mobile procurement sites established nationwide to serve more farmers.

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Exercising the authority to import rice when the need arises, the agency

undertook the importation of 500,000 MT of well-milled rice. Under a government-to-gov-ernment arrangement, the NFA Council approved the awarding of contract for the importation of 500,000 MT of long-grain white rice on March 3, 2015 to Thailand and Vietnam. The for-mer will supply 200,000 MT of rice. While the latter will supply the remaining 300,00 MT. Aside from the govern-ment-to-government importa-tion, NFA also administers and regulates the private sec-tor importation of rice via the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) Importation Program. Covering 350,000 MT for 2014, which is

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

Pro-Active and Beneficial Importation

composed of 163,000 MT Coun-try Specific Quota and 187,000 MT Omnibus Origin, the MAV program allows the participa-tion of the private sector in rice importation. It is also part of the country’s commitment with the World Trade Organization (WTO), consistent with the ne-gotiated Quantitative Restrictions of (QR) in the place until the end of June 2017.

During Administrator Dalisay’s term, the 187,000 MT Omnibus Origin MAV program was opened. Each importer was allowed a maximum of 5,000 MT that can be sourced from any country. Importers were al-lowed only to import high value rice varieties such as glutinous rice, jasponica rice, basmati rice, and other aromatic rice varieties.

In order to address the issues accompanying private sector participation in the MAV import program––such as the recycling of import permits and the use of farmers’ cooperatives as dum-mies in importation activities––the NFA has instituted measures to make rice importation more transparent and open. Foremost among the involved action was a comprehensive review of the MAV-Omnibus Origin Rice Im-portation program guidelines.

The review subsequently led to improvements in the guidelines and paved the way for the opening up of the program. It led to the participation of more players and leveling of the playing field for the private sec-tor.

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In addition, the NFA has also focused on proper warehouse management, a

critical factor in maintaining the country’s rice buffer stock.

Having learned from the damage caused by Typhoon Yolanda to the agency’s ware-houses and properties, the NFA has started the construction of two 200,000-bag capacity warehouses in Alang-alang, Leyte and a 100,000-bag capac-ity warehouse in Ormoc City. These will be the first of their kind, boasting climate-resilient features that will enable the two new warehouses to withstand 350kph winds and intensity 8 earthqauakes.

All in all, a total of 111,205,000 pesos have been set aside by the national govern-ment to cover the rehabilita-tion and reconstruction of NFA

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

Key Infrastructure Improvement

Recognizing that the NFA’s success will be greater with the support of its key stakeholders, Adminis-

trator Dalisay initiated a series of dia-logues and consultations (Ugnayan) with the various groups and sectors involved in the rice industry.

From November 2014 to May 2015, 392 Ugnayans were conducted nationwide, participated by 12,789 farm-ers, gains businesses, and other business groups.

Rallying Stakeholder Support and Encouraging ConsumerVigilance and Participation

infrastructures and post-harvest facilities affected by Typhoon Yolanda in Regions VI, VII, and VIII. Almost two years after Ty-phoon Yolanda, the repair of the 18 destroyed warehouses has all been completed.

Recognizing the im-portance of warehouses in the country’s prepositioning stock capacity and strategy, Administra-tor Dalisay personally attended

the inauguration of the P19.8M NFA GID Warehouse in Lib-manan, Camarines Sur. This 100,000-bag capacity warehouse will increase the Bicol region’s prepositioning stock capacity. Simultaneously, Administrator Dalisay inspected rice stock in the provinces of Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon in light of Typhoon Dodong in May 2015 and the recent threat of Mount Bulusan’s volcanic activity.

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

These meetings enabled the NFA to inform and update grains stake-holders regarding its frontline services, such as registration and licensing, palay and corn procurement, rice and corn distribution, and food product testing and evaluation. Among the concrete gains as a result of these Ugnayans was the registration of 68 farm-ers groups under the Institu-tional Procurement Program of the NFA.

Consumers and con-sumer advocates and groups were also tapped by the NFA to aid it in its efforts to monitor rice prices and supplies. These measures were also part of the NFA’s proactive strategy to curb smuggling in the country and to apprehend erring businessmen who threaten the rice industry and Filipino consumers through illegal activities like the re-bagging of NFA rice. These

new reform measures pushed by the new NFA leadership seek to expand its stakeholders support base, as well as involve civil soci-ety organizations in ensuring the food security of the country.

The highlight of these efforts is the “Bantay Bigas” cam-paign launched in collaboration with Kaya Natin!, a consumer-based advocacy group promoting good governance.

Records from the Security and Investigation Department so far show positive gains from these programs. From November 2014

to the end of May 2015, a total of 10,112 grains establishments have been inspected, and more than a thousand violations have been recorded. Consequently, grains businessmen have been apprehended and fined. Through these efforts, the NFA was able to collect a total of 6,000,000 pesos in administrative fees.

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

The NFA leadership reviewed the existing Text-NFA feedback

mechanism under the Citizen’s Charter, which provided stake-holders a faster means to send in their inquiries, requests, sugges-tions and complaints relative to the products and services of the NFA.

At present, complaints received through Text-NFA rela-tive to NFA Frontline Services are addressed properly within 72 hours with an average of 4.04-hour turn-around time for every 204 complaints. Likewise, there are 143 inquiries that were responded to immediately, within twenty-four hours or even less.

Banking on the increas-ing role of social media as a

Improving Response andAction via Technology

communication tool to reach more people in real time, NFA has started to actively utilize various social networking sites (NFA/@nfapublicaffairs on Facebook; @bigas_nfa on Twitter; bigas_nfa on Instagram).

These sites are not only

being used to inform the pub-lic about the agency and other interesting topics related to rice and the industry, but they also serve as mechanisms to receive feedbacks and to act on inquiries, complaints, suggestions from the netizens at the earliest possible opportunity.

The Philippine National Single Window (NSW) program led by the

Bureau of Customs (BOC) is aimed towards eventual ASEAN integration. It is a computer-ized internet-based system that allows parties in trade to lodge information and documents with a single entry point to fulfill all import, export, and transit-relat-ed regulatory requirements.

Aiming for Synergy: Liaison with other Government and Non-Government Agencies

As one of the key gov-ernment regulatory agencies, the NFA utilized the application sys-tem for its export activities. To date, the NFA has been able to complete all the needed require-ments for the complete roll-out of the system. Aside from rice, the agency also manages the corn in-dustry. The Corn Development Fund (CDF), created by Memo-

randum Order No. 468 which was issued by then President Fi-del V. Ramos on March 17, 1998, mandated that the proceeds accruing from the importation of corn shall be held in trust by the National Food Authority, to be used for corn development projects. Net proceeds amount-ing to P124.1 M made up the seed capital of the CDF. In 2007, P65.9 M in service fees from corn importation was added to

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

the fund, bringing the total prin-cipal amount to P190 M. The CDF is available to corn indus-try stakeholders in the form of grants and soft loans. The Corn Development Fund Committee has continued to work on corn programs that ultimately redound to the benefit of the corn industry, notably to corn farmers and corn end-users alike. As of December 31,

2014, the CDF has a balance of P150.145 M. Upon the recommenda-tion of the CDF Committee, Ad-ministrator Dalisay has endorsed to Secretary Francis N. Pang-ilinan the approval of two grant projects, namely; the Mobile Soil Test Clinic, aimed at enhancing farm productivity and amount-ing to P3,545,960.00, to benefit

ten (10) corn farm cooperatives; the Modernization of Grains Moisture Content Determina-tion at the Farm Level, intended for more efficient marketing and storage of produce and amount-ing to P4,350,000.00, which will benefit 50 farmers’ cooperatives. The fund includes training on the operation and maintenance of equipment.

The ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Re-serve (APTERR) is a

regional cooperation scheme among ASEAN countries, plus China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. It seeks the strength-ening of food security and the reduction of poverty in the Southeast Asian and East Asian regions. APTERR holds two (2) forms of rice reserves, namely: (1) Earmarked Emergency Rice Reserves, which are pledged by member countries to APTERR, but remain under the storage, ownership and control of the earmarking country; and (2) Stockpiled Rice Reserves, which

Regional Cooperation, Localized Service

consist of physical stocks or cash for the provision of rice aid that has been donated to APTERR. The earmarked stocks may be released and mobilized through the following schemes : Tier 1 – release under commer-cial basis; Tier 2 – release under long-term or grant, and Tier 3 – release from a stockpiled rice reserve for immediate distribu-tion during times of calamities or emergencies, and for poverty alleviation or malnourishment eradication. When Typhoon Yolanda struck the country in November, 2013, affecting more than three million families, the NFA request-

ed the APTERR Secretariat for the availment and release of about 5,000 metric tons of stockpiled emergency rice reserve from willing APTERR member countries. Among the APTERR member countries that ex-pressed willingness were China, Thailand, Japan and Malaysia. Malaysia donated 350 metric tons while Japan donated 580.05 metric tons under the APTERR Tier 3 program for the affected families in the provinces of Ak-lan, Iloilo and Capiz. The 350 metric tons of rice donated by Malaysia were distributed to 35,000 family-beneficiaries under the “Early Recovery Program” of the Phil-ippine Government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development. Qualified fam-ily-beneficiary received a 10-kg rice allocation. The distribution of rice was completed in August 25, 2014. Meanwhile, the 580.05 metric tons of rice donated by Japan through its Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fish-eries (MAFF) were distributed under the Food-for-Work pro-gram of the DSWD. The 19,124 family-beneficiaries received one bag equivalent to 30kg in exchange for five days of com-munity work.

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

Last March 2015, Administrator Dalisay acted as

one of the representa-tives of the Philip-pines in the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC)’s Full Day Discussions on Human Rights and Climate Change in Ge-neva, Switzerland. He specifically discussed the Department of Agriculture’s Adapta-tion and Mitigation

Expanding Reach, Developing Partners

Initiative in Agriculture, a climate-change adaptation and mitiga-tion program launched in 2013, in relation to efforts at achieving agricultural development. Ad-ministrator Dalisay also shared insights on the impact of climate change on the right to food. In his speech, he asked the dele-gates from different countries for communal efforts to implement programs that can reduce the adverse and damaging effects of climate change.

Administrator Dalisay also engaged the rice research industry through visits to the International Rice Research In-stitute (IRRI) in Laguna and the Philippine Rice Research Insti-tute (PhilRice) in Nueva Ecija.

A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with IRRI, particularly in the area of re-search, is now being finalized. It will result in grain quality improvement and will include

assessments of consumer prefer-ences and rice production and processing technologies, from handling to post-harvest op-erations. The agreement likewise provides support for scientific research toward enhanced rice productivity and quality, including the movement of germplasm.

With PhilRice, the NFA will be collaborating with the review of the current state of the rice industry and research facili-

ties. They will pursue the use of modern technologies to increase yield with lesser costs of pro-duction. The agency will also partner with PhilRice for the “Be Riceponsible” campaign, which includes brown rice consumption and rice conservation.

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

Reorganizing the NFAand Restoring Employee Morale

“An organization is just as strong as the people in it.”

This has been the man-tra of Administrator Dalisay. The steps taken

during his first two hundred days in office reflect a commit-ment to address the needs and welfare of NFA’s employees and improve their morale.

The new NFA leadership has steadily and decisively un-dertaken a bottom-up reconfigu-ration of the NFA as an organi-zation, based on guidance from the NFA Council and consistent with the overall reform agenda of the Aquino Administration.

Among the first steps taken by Administrator Dalisay upon assuming leadership was to sit down with the NFA Employ-ees’ Association, one of the most active government employee organizations in the entire Philippine bureaucracy. This

showed his openness to proactive engagement and his willingness to address the issues that matter most to the thousands of NFA employees around the country.

Deserving employees have also received long-delayed and much-deserved promotions, with the promotion of 204 per-sonnel in various offices across the country within the Administra-tor’s first 200 days.

Special Orders were made appointing Director Leticia Cruz as Assistant Ad-ministrator for Finance and Administration and Assistant Administrator Joseph dela Cruz as Deputy Administrator for Marketing Operations, and the re-assignment of Deputy Administrator Ludovico J. Jarina from the Office of Deputy Ad-ministrator for Marketing Op-erations to the Office of Deputy Administrator for Finance and Administration.

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As part of efforts to bring in new blood into the agency, the NFA has also begun an aggressive recruitment cam-paign, with 75 new personnel now occupying previously vacant posts and more new appoint-ments to be made in the months to come. The Civil Service Commission has approved the agency’s guidelines on Strate-

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

The early re-lease of the Collective

Negotiation Agree-ment Incentive (CNAI) to employees amount-ing to P25,000, the maximum amount allowed by the Depart-ment of Budget and Management has been reached by a record-breaking, 45-minute discussion between the Management – Union Consultative Coun-

gic Performance Management System. To fully implement this, officials and employees nationwide underwent briefing/workshops on the SPMS guidelines. Officials and employees who have completed their briefing on SPMS have already submitted their respective Office Performance Commitment and Review (OPCR) and Indi-vidual Performance Commitment and Review (IPCR) for the second

semester of 2014 using the new performance evaluation system. With the full implementation of the NFA-SPMS, ratings based on the new performance evaluation system is now being used for per-formance based human resource movements and developments and interventions such as promotions, scholarship, training, rewards and incentives this 2015.

Addressing Internal Needs

cil (MUCC). This maximum amount was received by the employees for two consecutive years. As long as it is within the bounds of the law, Administra-tor Dalisay saw to it that the employees received what was due to them.

Following the success of the 2014 Collective Nego-tiation Agreement Incentive (CNAI), the composition of the 2015 CNAI MUCC has already been reconstituted to monitor and resolve issues regarding the implementation of existing CNAI.

Capacity-building has been a priority of the new leader-ship, with a total of 43 training programs conducted for NFA employees.

Administrator Dalisay also approved the reactivation of the NFA Grains Library at the Central Office that shall be operated and maintained by the NFA Employees Association. The operationalization of the library in is line with the CNA provision providing for the professional growth and development of NFA employees. Funds shall also be allocated for the improvement of the library that includes the

acquisition of new books.

As part of the NFA’s advocacy campaign under Admin-istrator Dalisay, a music video fea-turing Noel Cabangon’s “Tungo sa Pagbabago” and a corporate au-dio-visual presentation (AVP) was produced highlighting the NFA as a dynamic organization with clear policy directions. The video focuses on the major programs and activities of the food agency acting as a vital component of the government. It hopes to boost morale and stir up collective pride in being part of the NFA family.

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

NFA: In the Eye of the Storm

As the country has been buffeted by more pow-erful storms in recent

years, the NFA has had to play a greater role in ensuring that affected populations continue to have access to the country’s most basic staple food.

The NFA’s disaster-response capabilities were tested during Administrator Dalisay’s first month in office. Just three weeks after taking his oath, Ty-phoon Ruby hit the country. The NFA was immediately thrown in the thick of preparations. With Administrator Dalisay person-ally leading operations, the NFA prepositioned stocks in areas affected by the typhoon. A total of 108,173 bags of rice were released during and immediately after Typhoon Ruby, stocks that went to affected areas in Southern Tagalog, Bicol Re-gion, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, NCR and Caraga Region.

These were mainly chan-neled through local government units (53,196 bags), the Depart-ment of Social Welfare and Development (44,823 bags), the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Center (4,100 bags) and the Philippine Red Cross (6,054 bags).

By the end of Decem-ber 2014, another typhoon hit the country. Typhoon Seniang affected almost the same areas in the Visayas, but with rice stocks already in place, mitigating the effects of the typhoon was easier

for the NFA and other relief and rehabilitation agencies. All in all, the NFA released about 5,000 bags through the same agencies.

The string of adverse weather conditions did not end with Typhoon Seniang; barely two weeks after welcom-ing 2015, Typhoon Amang hit Region V and other provinces and through the efforts of NFA management, the agency re-leased a total of 8,000 bags of rice in the provinces of Cama-rines Sur and Sorsogon.

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On the Road toFinancial Well-Being

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

By the end of fiscal year 2014, the NFA posted what has not been experienced

by the agency since 1997 – a Net Income after subsidy. This was brought about by two factors – a more efficient and economical operation, and profitable importa-tions. Thus, 2014 resulted in a net income of One Billion Eight Hun-dred Seventy Five Million Two Hundred Four Thousand Pesos (P1,875,704,000.00).

Administrator Dalisay also supervised the execution of the importation of the govern-ment-to-government transaction for the purchase of 25% brokens WMR with a volume of 500,000 MT, conducted a month before he

took over. The purchase price of the said stock was at US$475/MT, but by virtue of a more efficient distribution process, the move even resulted in a profit of PHP4.32/kg for the said variety for the year 2014. This was a considerable contribution to the agency’s bottom line.

And the trend will hope-fully continue in 2015.

For the first quarter of 2015, the NFA conducted another government to government trans-action for the purchase of another 500,000 MT, composed of 250,000 MT 25% brokens WMR and 250,000 MT 15% brokens WMR, to replenish the country’s buffer

stock. Due to a more transparent procurement process, the purchase price of the two varieties were well below the reference price set by the Agency. The projected income for the sale of the importa-tion is pegged conservatively at One Billion Three Hundred Mil-lion Pesos (Php1,300,000,000.00). The Net Profits posted in 2014 are only the beginning of the rise of the agency from the ashes.

By the end of 2015, the NFA aims to institutionalize poli-cies that will not only ensure the fulfillment of the NFA’s mandate to the consuming public and the Filipino farmer, but at the same time guarantee a healthy fiscal outlook for the agency.

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An Activist, Progressive, Technology-Driven Bureaucracy:Administrator Renan B. Dalisay

Moving Forward

Sincere intentions, clear directions, decisive actions – these have been the hall-marks and defining traits of an activist, progressive, and technology-driven NFA leadership that has endeavored to properly position the agency and its

people at the forefront of government efforts at achieving food security for 100 million Filipinos and the coming generations.

With two hundred days done and potentially four hundred more on the way, Administrator Renan B. Dalisay and the NFA management and staff are now more fo-cused on meeting and exceeding the goals of the BIGAS Blueprint. They, individually and collectively, will continue to establish mechanisms that shall solidify the changes that have been started.

There is hope for change. There is change in hope.

Lay-out and Design:Boy T. Paraiso, Public Affairs