No overpriced urea fertilizers – Duterte

THERE was nothing irregular in the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) procurement of urea fertilizers, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday.

In his Q4th report to Congress, Duterte said the DA maintained that the bidding for the procurement of the fertilizers was “above board” and “transparent.”

The President made the statement after farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) alleged that the DA bought overpriced fertilizers.

Sinag claimed that the DA purchased Q,8QQ,090 bags of urea fertilizers for PQ.8 billion in a series of biddings, which translates to at least PQ,000 per bag.

It said that the average retail price of urea fertilizer was P850 per bag.

The DA had denied the allegations, saying that it was able to purchase fertilizers at a lower price.

Based on data from the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, Duterte said the national average price of urea fertilizer from February

to April 2020 was PQ,05Q per bag, which was lower than the PQ,200 to PQ,400 per bag in previous years.

“The DA has taken the necessary measures to enhance the system of fertilizer distribution, including geo- tagging, posting of all recipients or beneficiaries, system digitization, and institution of an ‘integrity group’,” Duterte said.

The “integrity group” is composed of nongovernment organizations, civil society organizations, regional agricultural fishery councils and other private sector representatives to “observe and monitor” fertilizer distribution, he added.

No stocks

Sinag claimed on Tuesday that La Filipina, which won the fertilizer contract, failed to fulfill its obligation to deliver 9QQ,073 bags of urea fertilizer in Central Luzon by the end of June.

The group’s chairman Rosendo So said the supplier was only able to deliver about QQ0,000 bags of fertilizer, or a mere Q2 percent of its total obligation.

“This is ground enough for Agriculture Secretary William Dar to rescind this contract,” So stressed. “This is proof that La Filipina, contrary to its claim, has no stock on hand nor does it have enough incoming supply of urea fertilizer.”

Based on the terms of reference of the contract, La Filipina should have achieved a 50-percent delivery compliance in May this year and should have made full delivery by the end of June.

La Filipina was also awarded the supply contracts for Calabarzon ( Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon) at P990 per bag and Western Visayas at P995 per bag, while Atlas Fertilizer won the contract for Central Visayas at P900 per bag.

So said the bill of lading would indicate a detailed list of incoming shipment of goods.

“We checked with the Bureau of Customs — walatalagangdumating supply (no supply arrived).

How come this supplier was able to bag the contracts?” he asked.

So said La Filipina had been selling urea fertilizer through its retail partners at an average regional outlet price of P898 per bag in Central Luzon.

“In fact, a memorandum to Secretary Dar by the department’s Central Luzon executive director dated June Q9 showed that Amigo Planters, which is the retail brand of the winning bidder, La Filipina Uy Gongco, was sold in outlets for a regional average of P898,” he said.

“This does not make sense at all. First, DA was buying in bulk. That in itself should have resulted in a lower negotiated contract price. Second, DA went straight to the importer. That means you already removed the middlemen and the add-on costs that would be reflected in the outlet retail price.”

Sen. Cynthia Villar earlier said she was committed to investigate the alleged overpriced fertilizer supply contracts.