MALOLOS CITY—Some Bulacan farmers admitted that they received fertilizers handed by the Department of Agriculture in 2004 but noted it was overpriced and hardly effective on their crops.
However, most farmers denied receiving fertilizers which lawmakers said they facilitated its distribution.
Melencio Domingo, chairman of the Malolos City Agriculture and Fisheries Council (MCAFC), said in an interview last Saturday that they received liquid foliar fertilizer on March 2004.
He said that the Malolos City Agriculture Officer Estelita Mendoza called her and asked him to pick up the fertilizer from the city agriculture office’s warehouse in Barangay Panasahan here.
“Pinapirma pa ako ng tinanggap ko yung 100 botelya ng tig-isang litrong foliar fertilizer,” Domingo said noting that agriculture officials even said that each bottle was worth P1,000 each.
He said that he handed two bottles to each fellow farmers at Barangay Santor here who were excited to learn that each bottle was worth P1,000 each.
However, weeks after the foliar fertilizer was applied to palay crops, local farmers realized that it was hardly effective.
“Mahal dahil walang bisa,” was how Domingo described the foliar fertilizer given to them for free.
As this developed, Pedro Tapang, current chairman of the Provincial Agriculture and Fisheries Council (PAFC), said that they received no fertilizer coming from the controversial P728-million fund released by former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante.
The same was echoed by Hermogenes De Castro, chairman of the 28,000 strong Angat Maasim River Irrigation System (Amris) Confederation of Farmers Irrigators in the province.
“Kung may ipinamigay sa mga farmers, dapat kahit ilan sa amin ay may natanggap,” he said.
Earlier, Bulacan lawmakers that include Lorna Silverio, Reylina Nicolas and Vice Governor Willy Alvarado admitted that they facilitated the distribution of the fertilizers in 2004, and stressed that they did not receive any money.
However, Silverio said that she facilitated the distribution of fertilizer to farmers in Angat, Bulacan only after the election.
She said, “it was no in aid of my re-election.’
The lawmaker also said that they only signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Agriculture’s Regional Office in Central Luzon and the same office implemented the program.
An agriculture officer who asked not to the named said that Cesar Rodriguez, the former agriculture director in Central Luzon who is now assigned in the Cordillera Administrative region, was the one who implemented the program.
