Keep off scam probe, Gutierrez asked

Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez was urged yesterday to inhibit herself from the investigation to be conducted by her office into the P2.8-billion fertilizer and farm inputs fund scam.

"For the sake of delicadeza, Gutierrez should voluntarily inhibit herself from the inquiry," said Rep. Rafael Mariano of the party-list group Anakpawis.

"Being a law school classmate of the First Gentleman and an Arroyo appointee, Gutierrez’s participation in any probe to be led by her office will be highly questionable," he said.

Mariano said the Ombudsman might be suspected of covering up for former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn "Jocjoc" Bolante, a close friend of President Arroyo’s husband and the official directly in charge of the fertilizer and farm inputs distribution project shortly before the May 2004 presidential election.

During a Senate hearing two weeks ago, the Ombudsman was asked what her office was doing in connection with the fertilizer scam that the committee on agriculture chaired by Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. was investigating.

Gutierrez responded that she would form a task force to coordinate with the Magsaysay committee in looking into the anomaly. She later named Assistant Ombudsman Evelyn Baliton as task force head.

She said she would charge all those to be found involved in the scam, including congressmen, governors and mayors.

Her answer that she would form a probe task force prompted some senators to comment that her office has been sitting on a complaint that former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez filed early last year accusing Bolante and several officials with plunder for allegedly releasing and using the fertilizer money for Mrs. Arroyo’s election campaign.

Mariano, who also heads the peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, which is composed of farmers, said farmers did not benefit from the billions in fertilizer funds that Mrs. Arroyo released before the 2004 elections.

"The money just went to the pockets of corrupt officials and politicians," he said.

He said if Mrs. Arroyo is not involved in the anomaly, she should compel Bolante and other officials to attend the Magsaysay committee investigation.

Bolante and incumbent agriculture officials, including Undersecretary Belinda Gonzales, Bolante’s successor, have been evading Senate invitations. The incumbent officials cite Executive Order 464 in turning down the invitations.

According to the Commission on Audit, liquid fertilizer bought out of the money Malacañang released to Bolante and which Bolante allocated to 110 congressmen, 53 governors and 26 town mayors was overpriced by 800 percent to 1,300 percent.

In the Bicol Region, out of P60 million covered by initial audit, about P49 million was discovered to have been skimmed by corrupt officials through overpricing. — Jess Diaz