Embattled BFAR chief Demosthenes Escoto. Photo from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Central Office Facebook page. 

MANILA -- Some employees of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) expressed support for their dismissed chief, Atty. Demosthenes Escoto.

Escoto was ordered dismissed by the Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday after finding him guilty of grave misconduct in the procurement of transmitters and transceivers.

In a statement on Thursday, employees said a legal recourse is still available to Escoto.

"We, the concerned employees of the DA-BFAR, have taken note of the legal development regarding a case filed at the Office of the Ombudsman against Atty. Demosthenes Escoto. We acknowledge that the decision is part of the due process and must be accorded with utmost respect," their statement read.

"Now that the decision is out, we believe that a higher legal recourse is still available for him. Amid these trying times, we would like to express our support to Atty. Dem," they said.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel appointed Isidro Velayo, Jr. as BFAR’s Officer-in-Charge.

Velayo was a former regional director for the Zamboanga Peninsula and former national coordinator of BFAR’s seaweed program. 

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