MANILA, Philippines – The National Food Authority (NFA) is once again on guard against an alleged fake NFA administrator.

In the latest incident, a fake administrator was reportedly spreading the word among private rice importers that he was selling import permits. The incident was reported to real NFA administrator Renan Dalisay on Thursday, July 8.

Import permits are highly-valued since they are only given to a few private rice importers who pass the requirements for NFA accreditation. Only these companies are allowed to import until the collective maximum volume of 20,000 metric tons of rice for private rice importation.

The application period for import permits began last July 1 and will end on July 30.

More than 10 incidents of a fake administrator have been reported to Dalisay since he was appointed to his position in November 2014.

“We’ve been trying to catch this guy. The incidents began two weeks into my appointment. It’s on and off. He would be quiet for a while and then he would call up again,” Dalisay told Rappler in a mix of English and Filipino.

Dalisay has reported the fake administrator to the National Bureau of Investigation. He has also sent a memo to NFA provincial offices to be wary of calls from people claiming to be the NFA administrator.

Modus operandi

The impostor’s modus operandi is to call NFA contractors and ask them for money in exchange for ensuring their contract goes smoothly, said Dalisay.

He would get the cellular phone numbers of the contractors by first calling the NFA provincial offices by landline.

“I’ve told the provincial managers that I don’t call by landline,” said Dalisay.

The bogus administrator has called up trucking contractors and warehouse contractors, asking for money and their silence.

Rappler was able to obtain a recording of one such phone call that took place last January. The phone conversation was recorded by Bernard Gonzales, an NFA trucking contractor operating in Zamboanga. 

Listen to the phone call below:

In the 7-minute long conversation, the fake NFA administrator asks Gonzales for “help with his vacation expenses (tulong sa aking pambakasyon)” in the form of P50,000. 

He also asks Gonzales to deposit the amount to his “secretary’s account” or to meet with him at the NFA central office when Gonzales goes to Metro Manila.

The alleged impostor also instructs Gonzales to keep the conversation between themselves.

“Wala kang ibang kakausapin kundi ako lang. ‘Yung regional director ay kaya naman nating utusan ‘yan. Basta hindi mo sila kakausapin. ‘Yung pag-uusap natin ay very confidential.”

(You won’t talk to anyone else but me. The regional director can be ordered around. Just don’t talk to them. Our conversation is very confidential.)

The recording was given to Dalisay.

Brazen

James Magbanua, national president of the National Grains Retailers Confederation of the Philippines (GRECON), confirmed to Rappler that he was also called two or 3 times by a man posing as the NFA administrator.

This happened during the time of Arthur Juan, the NFA administrator before Dalisay. Juan resigned barely 3 months into the job after accusations of extortion by a rice trader which Juan has denied.

A 35-year-old national organization, GRECON is an accredited retailer of NFA rice.

The fake administrator would usually text him first and ask him to call, Magbanua told Rappler by phone on Thursday, July 9.

One time, the fake administrator asked Magbanua to donate for an NFA “feeding program” for street kids in Manila. He even said the program was supported by Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Francis Pangilinan and Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II.

“‘P’wede bang kalahating milyon?’ sabi niya. Sabi ko hindi po kaya. ‘P100,000?’ Kaya ko. Tanong niya, ‘Can you send it today? I need the money now,’” said Magbanua.

(‘Can you give half a million?’ he asked me. I said I don’t have the money. ‘P100,000?’ I said, I can. He asked, ‘Can you send it today? I need the money now.’)

After the conversation, Magbanua called the NFA central office to confirm if Juan had indeed called him. The staff at the central office denied it.

Magbanua was asked to listen to the more recent phone conversation with Gonzales.

“It was the same voice who called me up before,” he said. 

Dalisay said it’s likely the impostor had gotten away with extortion or bribery in the past, explaining his brazenness. 

It’s also possible that there may be more than one impostor. 

A man with a fake NFA administrator ID and bogus NFA documents was arrested in Isabela in July 2014, as reported by Manila Bulletin. – Rappler.com