Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has appointed Isidro Velayo Jr. as the officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) after the Ombudsman dismissed its national director, Demosthenes Escoto.
Laurel said Velayo was a former national coordinator of BFAR’s seaweed program and previously the agency's regional director in Zamboanga Peninsula.
“OIC Isidro Velayo, director IV and assistant director for technical services, is a career professional and respected official of BFAR,” the DA chief said in a statement released on Wednesday, April 17.
The immediate appointment of Velayo, he said, will ensure BFAR's continued operations and implementation of the agency's major projects.
According to Laurel, his marching order to Velayo is to ensure that the operations of the agency “will not be affected by this legal development.”
Citing the order of the Ombudsman, the DA said Escoto was found guilty of grave misconduct in a graft case arising from BFAR's procurement of communications equipment in 2018.
“Escoto could still seek reconsideration of the Ombudsman’s decision or directly appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals,” the agriculture department stated.