This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 39, November 6-12, 2005
Fertilizer Fund Cover-up
Feared
Peasant leader Danilo Ramos said some congressmen in Bicol are “fast-tracking”
the distribution of fertilizer bags and even cash allegedly to refute claims
that no farm inputs were distributed to farmers under the controversial
P728-million fertilizer fund of the Department of Agriculture (DA). BY
AUBREY SC MAKILAN Kilusang Magbubukid ng
Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines) chair Danilo Ramos told
Bulatlat in an interview that Felix Paz of KMP-Bicol reported that some
congressmen in Bicol are “fast-tracking” the distribution of fertilizer bags and
even cash allegedly to refute the claims of many farmer groups that no farm
inputs/implements were distributed under the controversial P728-million
fertilizer fund. The funds were released by the Department of Agriculture (DA)
in February 2004. But, Ramos said, it will
not hide the fact that the fertilizer funds was just a scheme to fund the
campaign of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. KMP members have already
submitted sworn statements confirming they have not received any fertilizer or
money under the said allocation. Ramos also said that these
sworn statements will be presented and submitted to the Citizen’s Congress that
will try the president on Nov. 8 and 9 at the University of the Philippines and
Nov. 15 and 16 at the University of Makati, where he will participate as an
“expert witness” to testify on the fertilizer funds issue. Not given any KMP, a nationwide
organization of peasants with 64 provincial and 320 municipal chapters, said
their members did not receive any fertilizer. In an interview with
Bulatlat, Jaime Quieta of KMP-Caraga denied receiving any form of assistance
from the controversial fertilizer funds. “Ni isang butil na abono ay wala
kaming natanggap.” (We did not receive any fertilizer.) Greg Rivera of Pampanga
also said he did not benefit from the P5 million supposedly allotted to his
province’s 2nd district. Quieta, who lives in San
Miguel, Surigao del Sur, said they were not given any fertilizer or farm
equipment, even if there was P3.25 million given to Rep. Prospero Pichay for the
1st District alone. Quieta was surprised to learn their congressman
received “such a big amount” in December last year. P3.25 million and P1.75
million were also allotted for Pampanga’s 2nd and 3rd
districts, respectively. Meanwhile, Quieta told
Bulatlat that Rep. Jesnar Falcon (2nd District, Surigao del Sur)
distributed a multi-cab vehicle for each of the 60 barangays (villages) in March
and April last year, just a month before the elections. The money used for
purchasing the multi-cabs allegedly came from the fertilizer fund. Also during the campaign
period, they reportedly observed how two bags of fertilizers were sold to some
farmers for the price of one. Unregistered NGOs During the Oct. 26 hearing
of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, it was revealed that four of
eight non-government organizations listed as beneficiaries of the fertilizer
funds were not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC) nor
with the Cooperative Development Authority. The following were cited as
examples: Gabay Masa Development Foundation Inc., which got P30.5 million for
Region IV; Peoples’ Organization for Progress and Development Foundation Inc. (POPDFI)
, P13 million, Region V, X and IX; Magsasaka Foundation Inc., P11.5 million,
Region IX and IV; and the Matatag na Republika, with no specific amount
recorded. The POPDFI was the conduit
for the 2nd and 3rd District of Surigao del Sur. But
Quieta, whose chapter is from Surigao del Sur, denied any knowledge of such
transaction nor hearing of such organization. In a press release dated
Nov. 2, DA assistant secretary for administration and finance Felix Jose Montes
said “most of these NGOs have been dealing with the DA for several years already
and that they have submitted their accreditation papers with various regional
offices.” If found that the submitted documents were spurious, Montes said the
groups would have to reimburse the DA the whole amount released to them. Ramos however said that
more than the local government units (LGUs), it is the responsibility of the DA
to examine the NGOs it transacts with. He added that most of these are only “NGO
bureaucrats” used as front organizations for personal interests. He also said that based on
the Senate hearing, the LGUs did not know anything about the disbursement of the
funds. Jojo Villano of the League
of Provinces of the Philippines on the other hand said the League was unaware of
the so-called fertilizer funds. He said they only came to know about it from
media. Beneficiaries The Commission on Audit (COA)
reported that the DA list of recipients included 105 congressmen, 53 governors
and 23 municipal mayors. It was able to identify 104 congressmen, 46 governors
and 34 mayors as actual recipients. Ramos said these recipients
are mostly the president’s allies or party mates. The only opposition member he
noted was Rep. Rodolfo Plaza of Agusan del Sur. Meanwhile, there were also
congressmen who earlier denied receiving anything from the fertilizer funds like
Rep. Teddy Boy Locsin of Makati. Ramos said Rep. Darlene
Custodio of Cotabato was included in the original list of beneficiaries but
deleted possibly because of her support for Macapagal-Arroyo’s rival Fernando
Poe Jr. Meanwhile, Ramos said,
there are those like Rep. Federico Sandoval (Malabon-Navotas ) who supposedly
received P3 million for a tornado shredder machine but which COA could not find. COA reports showed that of
the P728 million, the DA only released P723 million for its regional field units
(RFUs). Of the P723 million, only P615 million were given out to the
beneficiaries-conduits. The remaining P108 million was supposedly for
“administrative expenses.” However, COA officials said
that of the total amount released, P91.1 million went to supplies, P371 million
to LGUs and P152.5 million to NGOs. Of the last, only about 51 percent had so
far been liquidated, said COA officials. “Mukhang lumilitaw na
ang abono para sa mga magsasaka at palayan ay mukhang inabono na para sa
kampanya ni Arroyo at ng kanyang mga kaalyadong politiko noong 2004
elections, (It appears that the funds for fertilizers were used to fund the
campaign of Arroyo and her allies during the 2004 elections)” he said. Meanwhile, Quieta said the
Surigao del Sur LGU refuses to release any information regarding the fertilizer
fund. Local DA officials on the other hand claim they do not know anything about
it. “Sabi pa ng
personnel ng DA, ‘di nila alam na meron palang malaking halagang ganon para
sa magsasaka,(Personnel from DA said that they did not know that there was
such a big amount alloted to farmers) ” he said. Not just the fertilizer
funds Aside from the
controversial fertilizer funds, Ramos said the sequestered Marcos ill-gotten
wealth should also be given attention. Under the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law, sequestered ill-gotten wealth should be used for land
distribution purposes. The U.S.$540-million escrow
account at the Swiss Bank was transferred to the Philippine National Bank (PNB)
in 1997. P35 billion was later transferred to the Bureau of Treasury in 2004.
Ramos said that their
initial investigation showed that almost P4.9 billion were released from
February to April 2004. The government also released, he added, P5.6 billion
under the Land Acquisition and Distribution (LAD) and an undetermined amount to
the National Irrigation Authority (NIA) and Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI). Bulatlat © 2005 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
Are attempts to hide the truth behind the fertilizer funds now taking place?
Bulatlat