Ombudsman charging ex-congressman with graft in fertilizer fund scam

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has ordered the filing of graft and malversation charges against former Marinduque Congressman Edmundo Reyes in connection with the fertilizer fund scam.

Also included in the charge sheet were several Department of Agriculture (DA) officials, namely: Regional Executive Director Dennis Araullo, Regional Accountant Raymundo Braganza, Regional Technical Directors Balagtas Torres and Rodolfo

Guieb, Legislative Coordinator Lucille Odejar, Cashier II Dory Iranzo, and Margie Tajon Luz, president and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the non-government organization (NGO) Gabaymasa Foundation, Inc.

In a separate administrative case, Morales dismissed and ordered the forfeiture of the retirement benefits of the six DA officials after they were found guilty of serious dishonesty, grave misconduct, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

Records showed that sometime in 2004, the Department of Budget and Management released P728 million for the implementation of the Farm Inputs and Farm Implements Program, known as the “Fertilizer Fund,” with Marinduque as one of the beneficiaries of the project.

The Special Panel on Task Force Abono found that in March, 2004, a memorandum of agreement (MOA) was entered into by Reyes, Araullo, and Luz for the procurement of fertilizers worth P5 million with B.T. Mangrubang as supplier.

In finding probable cause against the respondents, Ombudsman Morales stated that the selection of Gabaymasa as project implementor violated Commission on Audit (COA) Circular No. 96-003 which specifically provides for the process of accreditation, verification, and validation of NGOs.

Ms. Morales said Gabaymasa is not based in the community where the project was implemented but in Quezon City.

She added that only the 2003 Financial Statements (FS) of the NGO were submitted in violation of a COA circular which requires the submission of FS for the last three years to ensure that the NGO is in stable financial condition. She said Gabaymasa has no proven track record in the field of the agriculture.

She concluded that “public officers Reyes, Araullo, Braganza, Torres, Guieb, Odejar, and Iranzo, in conspiracy with Luz consented or, through abandonment or negligence, permitted Gabaymasa to take the P5-million fund in the guise of lawful disbursement, exhibiting “a deliberate lack of care or diligence in the performance of their respective duties…to achieve a common design of defrauding the government.”

Meanwhile, the criminal charges against Gabaymasa representatives Concha Idica, Ma. Cristina Vizcarra, Caridad Tajon, Melencio Punzalan, Rodolfo Luz, and Bernard Mangrubang of B.T. Mangrubang Enterprises were dismissed for lack of probable cause.