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Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Group got P6 million from lawmaker's fund
By Jeanette P. Malinao
CEBU CITY -- Sikap Yaman Foundation, which failed to liquidate the P6 million it received from Representative Clavel Martinez's discretionary funds through Bogo town, was the supplier of an allegedly irregular fertilizer transaction in Tuburan.
Auditors pointed in their Bogo report that officials failed to make representations with Sikap Yaman for the liquidation of the P6 million, while the Commission on Audit (COA) named the foundation as the supplier of 250 bottles of overpriced liquid fertilizers in Tuburan.
COA said they sent a letter-request to Sikap Yaman Foundation's address in Quezon City but the postal office returned it and blamed an "unknown address."
Like other questioned fertilizer purchases, that of Tuburan was from a monetary assistance from the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The DA is being investigated for alleged misuse of the fertilizer fund. The agency coursed the money through non-government organizations (NGOs) such as the Kasosyo Foundation, whose incorporators included the driver, secretary and garbage collector from Representative Antonio Yapha's office.
Overpriced
In Tuburan, COA found that the fertilizers were bought at P1,000 per bottle.
An evaluation by COA's technical audit specialists and a laboratory test done in Bureau of Soils, Cebu City on the "macronutrients specification shown in the label" showed that the price was "unreasonable and exorbitant."
The fertilizers could have been bought at P180 per bottle, the auditors said.
Tuburan paid P250,000 for them, but COA found that the price was excessive by P205,000.
Also, the town did not conduct a bidding before buying the fertilizers in February 2005.
Auditors are demanding an immediate refund of the amount.
Doubts
Aside from Tuburan, the southern towns of Carcar and Argao also have similar questioned fertilizer purchases.
Argao bought inorganic fertilizers worth P1,769,250 without complying with government requirements. Carcar, meanwhile, purchased 166 liters of foliar fertilizer, also without bidding.
Both towns have discrepancies in the dates of their documents that "cast doubts on the regularity of the transactions."
In Argao, auditors said Debonaire Philippines Distributors Inc. is "not found in the directory of licensed fertilizer distributors" in the country.
Argao did not conduct a bidding for the 1,685 bags of fertilizers.
COA cited Republic Act 9184, which states that invitations to bid must be posted twice and with six to 14 days in between publications.
Lapses
Also cited were the following violations:
* The purchase request was unnumbered, and the date was not indicated;
* Allotment and obligation slips were unnumbered and not signed by the budget officer;
* The purchase order, which is the contract between the agency and the supplier, was unnumbered and the date when it was signed by the supplier was not indicated;
* The purchase order and the inspection report had the same date;
* The charge invoice date is ahead of the purchase order date; and
* In the certification issued by AFCI Fertilizers and Chemical Inc., it was not mentioned that there are no subdealers selling at lower prices or that there are no suitable substitute available at lower prices. This is a condition for procurement through exclusive agents.
Same date
As for Carcar, officials bought foliar fertilizer worth P249,000 from M.M. Castillo Gen. Merchandise, without a bidding.
The certification from Good Earth Technologies International Inc. also did not mention subdealers or substitutes with lower prices.
The notice of award was May 9,2005 was signed by the mayor and the supplier. The date of the notice must "precede all other documents" but that of Carcar did not.
"The dates clearly indicated there was irregularity of the transaction since all the other documents were prepared simultaneously and made earlier than the notice of award," read the report for Carcar.
"Highly noticeable was (that) the delivery of 166 bottles, issuance of check, BAC attendance sheets and minutes of BAC bidding were all dated May 6," auditors added.
A copy of the laboratory result was also not included in the supporting papers.
Last year, COA also chided Poro for buying fertilizers that were overpriced by more than 1,000 percent, using money from the discretionary funds of then congressman Ace Durano, coursed through the DA. (Sun.Star Cebu)
(August 16, 2006 issue)
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