MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of charges – including graft and malversation - against former Marinduque Representative Edmundo Reyes, Department of Agriculture officials for their alleged involvement in the P728-million ($16.3 million*) fertilizer fund scam.

Aside from Reyes, set to be charged before the Sandiganbayan are DA officials Dennis Araullo, Raymundo Braganza, Balagtas Torres, Rodolfo Guieb, Lucille Odejar, and Dory Iranzo, the Ombudsman said in a statement on Wednesday, December 10.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has also ordered charges filed against Margie Tajon Luz, president and chairman of the board of trustees of Gabaymasa Foundation Inc.

The Ombudsman said that the individuals were found liable for malversation of public funds and violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Morales said Reyes and the DA officials chose Gabaymasa, an NGO without proper government accreditation, as project implementor under the government’s Farm Inputs and Farm Implements Program.

This goes against Commission on Audit (COA) Circular No. 96-00 which provides that NGOs tapped to implement government projects should be duly accredited, verified and validated by the government.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had earlier identified Marinduque as among the beneficiaries in a fertilizer program for farmers, and was allotted P5 million ($112,000) from the P728-million fertilizer fund.

’NGO with no track record’

In its resolution, the Ombudsman’s Task Force Abono said that Araullo and Reyes, representing DA Regional Field Unit IV and Marinduque, respectively, entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with Luz on March 10, 2004, for the P5-million fertilizer program in the province.

The task force also noted the following:

Morales 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 P5M 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.”

The Ombudsman also found DA officials Araullo, Braganza, Torres, Guieb, Odejar and Iranzo administratively guilty of serious dishonesty, grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service. Morales ordered their dismissal from the service, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

In November, the Ombudsman indicted August Syjuco Jr, former Iloilo 2nd District Representative and former Technical Education and Skills Authority (Tesda) director , and 12 others over the fertilizer fund scam.

The Senate probed the fertilizer fund scam in 2006, stemming from allegations that then Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc-joc" Bolante had diverted P728-million in fertilizer funds to the 2004 campaign of President Gloria Arroyo.

In May, the Ombudsman cleared Arroyo of involvement in the scam, saying it found no evidence to implicate her. – Rappler.com

*$1 = P44.5

LUCENA CITY, Quezon - Flash floods threaten Marinduque as Boac River continued to swell and sea water rose amid heavy rains spawned by Typhoon “Ruby,” now weakened to the category of a tropical storm, the head of the provincial disaster coordinating council said Monday.

“Our rain gauge monitor registered a maximum rainfall data of 30.8 millimeters which exceeded the forecast rainfall brought by Ruby,” Eleuterio Raza, acting head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a telephone interview.

“Low-lying areas and those near the shores run the risk of flooding, which will be exacerbated when high tide occurs,” he added.

Raza said the water level in the 27-km-long Boac River had reached 2.6 meters as of noon Monday and could overflow anytime as the river was heavily silted with mine tailings left behind by the now defunct Marcopper Mining Corp.

Data provided by the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) regional disaster office said that as of 8 a.m. Monday, 15,755 persons had been evacuated in Marinduque.

“More are evacuating due to risks of flood,” Raza said.

He said government rescue teams, assisted by citizens groups, were now evacuating villagers along the Boac River and other low-lying areas.

The provincial disaster office also feared that the abandoned Makulapnit and Maguila-guila mine dams and Tapian pit of the former Marcopper Mining Corp. might collapse, with catastrophic consequences for the towns of Mogpog and Boac.

Makulapnit and Maguila-guila were among the Marcopper dams that were described as being in “imminent danger of collapsing” by the United States Geological Survey as early as 1996, or after the spill occurred.

In 1996, the plug of the Tapian pit of the Marcopper mine gave way and unleashed approximately 200 million tons of toxic mine tailings into Boac River. The incident is considered to be the country’s worst mining disaster.

Makulapnit dam was built to supply water for the operations of Marcopper and for household use by residents within the vicinity, while Maguila-guila dam served as the mining company’s siltation dam.