The recent signing of the rice tariffication law will affect nine employees of the National Food Authority (NFA) in Palawan, said its provincial manager.
Engr. Alwin Uy, NFA provincial manager, said based on the survey they conducted seven local employees may opt for early retirement while two others may have their functions removed from them.
“Sa survey namin, [ang] willing mag-avail ng early retirement ay seven at ‘yong affected namin sa nawala nang function is dalawa lang,” Uy said.
He said the seven employees signified the intention to retire early because they will be getting good packages.
“‘Yong pito [na may] intention to retire kung mapu-pursue ang package dahil malaki-laki ang computation nila, pwede na nila i-avail ang early retirement kasi parang kapantay o mas higit pa ng kaunti ang makukuha nila kung hihintayin nila ang 65 years old nila,” he pointed out.
Uy said the agency has an ongoing restructuring and reorganization process the new rice law will remove their licensing and enforcement functions.
According to the Department of Agriculture (DA) earlier, some employees who will loss their jobs will be transferred to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) that handles the sanitary permits needed for importation.
Uy pointed out that affected employees that are qualified for other positions can apply for it or transfer to the BPI.
“Ang isa nilang pwedeng gawin kung ayaw nila umalis sa NFA ay mag-a-apply sila doon sa ibang posisyon, so ngayon kung wala ka talagang pupwestuhan, no choice ka para lumipat doon sa iba, lilipat ka talaga doon sa BPI. Ito ay para ‘di ka mawalan ng trabaho, hindi naman pwedeng hindi dahil sa civil service law, ‘yong security of tenure, hindi pwede na kami mawalan ng trabaho basta-basta,” Uy said.
