The National Agricultural and Fisheries Machinery Assemblers, Manufacturers, Importers, Distributors and Dealers Accreditation and Classification (NAMDAC) Board unanimously agreed on January 25, 2022 to recommend to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to blacklist a certain supplier due to falsified NAMDAC Certificate of Accreditation (CoA).

The Board also agreed to issue a notice to the company about the violations and the actions that will be taken.  However, the company can file an appeal.

The recommendation is based on the legal opinion of the Department of Agriculture Legal Service regarding the altered document submitted by one applicant as one of the requirements of the NAMDAC CoA.

“We need to maintain the integrity of the NAMDAC accreditation process,” said NAMDAC Board Chairperson Joel Ranit Panagsagan during the meeting.

NAMDAC Board, through Department of Agriculture Department Circular (DC) No.17, Series of 2018, has been strengthening the capability of the industry to develop and provide quality products and services by classifying and accrediting agri-fishery machinery suppliers into small, medium and large entities based on their organizational strengths and track records, area of operation, marketing and distribution network, after-sales service and manufacturing capabilities.

Three applications were deliberated for accreditation. The Board however is recommending only one company, the Isabela EBC Builders, Inc. 

Aside from this, the Board also opened the discussion on the proposed harmonization of NAMDAC and Permit-to-Operate (PTO). The PTO is granted to any Manufacturer, Fabricators, Assemblers, Dealers, Distributors, Importers, and Exporters that have passed the review, inspection, and evaluation by the  DA-Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering and the DA-Regional Agricultural Engineering Division.

Further, to improve the NAMDAC CoA process, PCAF recommends to draft the procedures for the accreditation of previously NAMDAC-accredited suppliers that changed their business names.  DA is also urged to issue a clarificatory statement informing all its procuring entities that the procurement of industrial machinery and equipment is not under the scope of DA DC No. 17, Series of 2018. | JC