THE Coconut Industry Investment Fund-Oil
Mills Group (CIIF-OMG) yesterday denied direct involvement in
the P2-billion corn and salt fertilization project of the
Philippine Coconut Authority, except for providing the funds.
"The scheme, design, procurement,
implementation and monitoring is being done by the PCA," said
Danilo Coronacion, CIIF-OMG president and chief executive
officer.
Coronacion said CIIF-OMG is in charge of
providing funds to coconut-related programs but with the
following conditions: that there should be repayment scheme;
the beneficiary should repay the loan amount in kind or in
cash; it should be subject to periodic audit of the CIIF-OMG
Audit Board with close coordination with the Commission of
Audit; and the projects should be aligned with the CIIF-OMG
business thrusts and mandate.
The CIIF-OMG is an association of
accredited oil mills in the Philippines which are involved in
the development of the coconut industry.
Coronacion said the P100 million which the
Federation of Free Farmers claimed was given in advance to PCA,
was specifically used to initiate the rehabilitation of
coconut industry of the storm-ravaged provinces of Southern
Tagalog, Bicol and Samar in 2006.
He noted that the P100 million was already
a rounded figure, of which P84 million was intended for corn
intercropping implemented last March 2007 to the present.
"We’re asking PCA to submit a comprehensive
report. We have a Board of Audit, but it goes without saying,
all reports should be under the scrutiny of COA," Coronacion
said.
The FFF has called on the government to
investigate the salt fertilization project and corn seed
program, claiming these violated government rules on
procurement.
FFF president Leonardo Montemayor, a former
agriculture secretary, also said that only one supplier was
allowed to submit a bid for the project, because all other
interested bidders had earlier been disqualified by the PCA
bidding committee.
The FFF also said the PCA allowed the
bidding for the P1.89-billion salt supply project last
December 2007 without a certification of fund availability.
Montemayor also claimed that the PCA’s
estimated salt fertilization cost of P3,000 per hectare was
"too big" and "likely overpriced."
PCA officials Wednesday denied knowledge of
the P2 billion fund.
"Di namin ang hawak ang P1.89 billion, what
we have is just the costing we’ll be needing to improve and
raise the coconut production in the country," PCA deputy
administrator Arturo Liguete said.
"The PCA has embarked on a general plan for a four-year
production program beginning 2008 to 2011 to recover lost
production due to calamities and secure supply needs for
domestic, international markets and bio-fuel requirement," PCA
administrator Oscar Garin said. – Randy Nobleza
