FERTILIZER SCAM
Rebaldo again denies getting kickback; mulls suing accuser
By BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

KALIBO, Aklan – For the nth time, Mayor Raymar Rebaldo denied that he received commission in the distribution of fertilizer funds in 2004.
He called this allegation of Jose Barredo Jr. as “flawed and baseless.”
Barredo implicated the mayor in the so-called P728-million fertilizer fund scam under the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) program, an agricultural project of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
“This allegation is affecting the integrity of my family. We are seriously considering the filing of appropriate charges against him after the Office of the Ombudsman ends its investigation,” he said.
There is a renewed interest in the scam that erupted last year yet after former Agriculture Secretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante, the suspected architect of the scam, was nabbed by US immigration authorities at the Los Angeles International Airport on July 7, 2006 for using an expired tourist visa.
The mayor said supporters and friends were using his residence as his campaign headquarters at the time Barredo claimed he met him and discussed the fertilizer project.
“It would be impossible to conduct clandestine meetings there since the campaign headquarters is frequented and filled with people night and day. His (Barredo) allegation is a clear and blatant form of character assassination. I vehemently deny I met him a day before the 2004 elections,” Rebaldo said.
Barredo, a native of Brgy. Hanglid, President Roxas, Capiz, also claimed that Rebaldo disagreed with the initial offer of P600,000 in commission and demanded more “kickbacks” a day before the 2004 local elections.
Earlier, Rebaldo admitted that in 2004 he entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Agriculture (DA) where 2,000 liters of liquid fertilizers were turned over without any price tags. This, he said, were witnessed by DA and local officials of Kalibo.
Rebaldo said DA turned down his earlier proposal for farm-to-market roads in the barangays and instead DA responded with the GMA agricultural program.
The P3-million fund intended for Kalibo was shelled out in the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on February 3, 2004 to former Agriculture Secretary Luisito Lorenzo.
Rebaldo also denied receiving any financial assistance from DA as evidenced by the official letter sent by the Municipal Accountant to the Commission on Audit (COA).
Barredo said the fertilizers came from Feshan Philippines, authorized supplier of the fertilizer which were normally priced between P180 and P350 a liter but was purchased at P1,500.