120,000 Bicol farmers didn’t get veggie subsidy, says group

LEGAZPI CITY—AT LEAST 120,000 PEASANT farmers in the Bicol region did not receive any vegetable seeds from the government, the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas said Wednesday in the wake of the P135-million vegetable scam revealed by the Commission on Audit.

In the absence of lists identifying the farmer beneficiaries, the COA expressed doubt whether the seeds were actually distributed under President Macapagal-Arroyo’s “Gulayan ng Masa” program implemented by the Department of Agriculture.

Felix Paz, KMP-Bicol chair, said the group would go straight to the intended farmer beneficiaries to ferret out the truth.

He said that among members of the KMP alone, around 120,000 were not able to receive the vegetable subsidy.

Election funds

Paz said leaders of the group believe that, just like in case of the P728 million fertilizer scam last 2004, the funds used for purchasing the vegetable seeds were used for the 2007 elections.

He said in a statement that it had become a modus operandi of the Arroyo administration to use the plight of the peasants to justify release of funds for corruption and to bankroll the election of pro-administration candidates.

“So we expect more of the same scams in 2010 when no big fish is being punished now,” Paz added.

“We testified in the Senate investigation on the fertilizer scam and we are willing to do it again on the vegetable scam, but this time we hope that those responsible will finally be held accountable,” he said.

Poverty alleviation

At least 10 regional offices of the agriculture department spent a total of P135.3 million last year on various vegetable seeds and planting materials for the program intended to augment the income of farmers during the gap in planting seasons of rice and corn to reduce rural hunger and malnutrition.

These regional offices were in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Western and Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Caraga.

Of the amount, P66.55 million was spent on vegetable seeds while the rest on planting materials.

The beneficiaries in Southern Tagalog, Bicol and CAR were not named, according to the COA report.

The list of names of farmers who were supposed to have benefited from the program, however, carried no addresses, and other details that would show judicious use of the funds. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon