DA denies allegations of “overpriced” fertilizer to aid farmers amid pandemic

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 16) — The Department of Agriculture has denied anomalies related to its fertilizer supply contract under its COVID-19 response program, as fears arise for another fertilizer scam.

In a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes assured industry stakeholders that the department followed the government’s procurement process for the fertilizers under its “Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat (ALPAS) Kontra COVID-19.”

The invitation to bid involved 5.69 million bags of fertilizer worth ₱5.69 billion.

DA Secretary William Dar said in a separate statement that the approved budget for the contract was ₱1,000 per 50-kilo bag, which was lower than the average retail price of urea.

Citing a survey by DA Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, average price of urea was from ₱1,043 to ₱1,062 from March to May, cheaper than the average price of ₱1,140 in December 2019.

DA already procured more than 1.8 million bags of urea, while the minimum winning bid price is at ₱900. Bidding is still on going.

However, the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, an umbrella organization of agricultural stakeholders, said that the DA’s retail price is way above the average retail price of ₱850.

“Fertilizer bought by farmers themselves fetch for only ₱830 to ₱850/ bag. This shows that the purchase of these urea fertilizer by the DA Central Office was utterly disadvantageous to the government and to our farmers,” SINAG Chairman Rosendo So said in a statement.

In a letter addressed to Dar, SINAG also noted that a bidding was conducted in Region I last February, wherein the bidding price was ₱950 versus the prevailing retail price at ₱880.

This exceeding amount of ₱115 for 4.5 million bags leads to a kickback of ₱517 million.

In response, Dar said that the farmers failed to consider that the price includes “cost of fertilizer, transportation cost, incidental services, and applicable taxes.”

Call for an investigation

With this, SINAG asked the Senate to conduct an investigation as fears of another fertilizer scam arise.

“We ask our senators to immediately investigate this and take to task those who are behind this anomalous deal,” So said.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Cynthia Villar said that she will also look into the matter, but a resolution should first be filed by the time Congress resumes.

Stakeholders can first reach out to the State Prosecutor at the Justice department, Villar said.

In 2004, a multi-million fertilizer fund scam erupted under the Arroyo administration. This involved former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante who was later cleared of plunder charges.

Bolante and nine others were charged for allegedly pocketing more than P265 million meant to buy fertilizers. This amount was said to have been used for the campaign of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.