Lorenzo clarifies use of P728 M

Outgoing Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. yesterday clarified the statement attributed to him that he was the "last to know" about the disbursement of P728 million in agricultural funds.

Lorenzo said that under General Memorandum Order No. 2 issued in 2001 on the delegation of authority, the undersecretary for finance and administration is authorized to disburse P5 million and below in order to facilitate the implementation of various agri-based projects.

"This has been the practice even during the time of my predecessor and when I came in, I just followed the established procedure," he said.

Lorenzo gave assurance that all fund disbursements of the Department of Agriculture, whether for regular or special programs, are subjected to regular audit procedures of the Commission on Audit.

He said the regional directors have assured him that the projects being implemented by the recipient local government units are covered by memoranda of agreement.

Lorenzo said he earlier had directed all of the department’s regional executive directors to closely monitor the implementation of these projects.

"We are still waiting for the consolidated reports from our field offices," he said.