Press Release
February 4, 2006
COVER-UP TRY FUTILE AT THIS POINT
Let DA officials testify on fertilizer fund scam, Senators urge Malacañang
Senate President Franklin Drilon and Sen. Ramon Magsaysay, chairman
of the Senate Committee on Food and Agriculture, today warned
Malacañang
against preventing officials involved in the
controversial P728-million fertilizer fund scam from testifying
before a Senate inquiry, saying any attempt to cover up the fraud
would be futile at this point.
In the light of the revelations of blatant and massive corruption
in this program, we are calling on Malacañang
to either revoke or
suspend the implementation of Executive Order 464 so that these
public officials can explain their participation in the fertilizer
fund scam, Drilon and Magsaysay said in a joint statement.
The two senators noted that former Department of Agriculture (DA)
Secretary now Presidential Assistant for Job Generation Arthur Yap,
former DA Assistant Secretary now Government Service Insurance
System (GSIS) Vice President Ibarra Poliquit and incumbent DA
Undersecretary Belinda Gonzales have invoked EO 464 as their reason
for refusing to testify before the Senate inquiry.
These officials, Drilon and Magsaysay added, were directly involved
in the administration of the fertilizer fund which the opposition
claimed was diverted to ensure the victory of President
Macapagal-Arroyo in the May 2004 polls.
The fertilizer fund was reportedly managed by former DA
Undersecretary Jocelyn Joc-Joc Bolante, the alleged chief
architect of the fertilizer fund program and a close associate of
First Gentleman Mike Arroyo.
In the statement, the two senators also asked President Arroyo to
give the Senate committee full and unlimited access to all DA and
the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) records on the
fertilizer project.
In fact, Malacañang
should direct DA and DBM officials to present
before the Senate Committee all pertinent documents on the use of
this funds. The Constitution calls for transparency and public
access to these records, they said.
By allowing these officials refuge under EO 464, Malacañang
can not
escape the public perception that it is actively involved in a
futile cover up attempt, the senators said. It will definitely
reinforce the allegations that the fertilizer funds were indeed used
for the election campaign of President Arroyo in May 2004.
I think it would be wise and prudent for Malacañang
to revoke or
suspend EO 464 in this case, the statement further said. These
officials owe the millions of poor and impoverished Filipino farmers
an explanation as to why the fertilizer funds were diverted
allegedly for political purposes.
On Friday, Drilon challenged the Office of the Ombudsman to initiate
its own investigation and file graft charges against Department of
Agriculture (DA) and local government officials involved in the
P728-million fertilizer scam.
He said documents and testimonial evidence gathered by an ongoing
Senate congressional investigation can be made available to
government anti-graft prosecutors for scrutiny and evaluation.
The Commission on Audit confirmed that the fertilizer used in the
Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) program was overpriced by at least
P127 million. COA records showed that more than 100 House of
Representatives members, 53 governors and 26 town mayors received
between P3 million and P10 million each in fertilizer funds from the
DA shortly before the May 2004 elections.
Drilon earlier called on Malacañang
to revoke EO 464 when the
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a
pastoral letter saying that the search for truth on allegations
questioning the legitimacy of the Arroyo administration must
continue.
If Malacañang
was sincere in its statement that it welcomed the
CBCPs statement, then it must first revoke EO 464, Drilon said.
If there is anything that serves as a stumbling block to the search
for the truth on allegations of election fraud as well as charges of
widespread corruption in government, it is the callous
implementation of this executive order by Malacañang
, he added.
Drilon added that the self-serving executive order was preventing
Congress from exercising its constitutionally-mandated oversight
powers to look into the abuses and excesses of the executive
department. |