Malones, Centena deny receiving "kickbacks" from fertilizer project
Malones
Iloilo -- Liquid fertilizers and nothing more.
Mayors Mariano Malones of Maasin and Alex Centena of Calinog, who were recently implicated by a supplier in the controversial fertilizer fund scam before the 2004 elections, both denied over the weekend having received any "kickbacks" reportedly given to beneficiaries of the said project.
"Honestly, I don"t have any idea about the kickback that this Mr. Jose Barredo, Jr. is talking about. The transaction was coursed through the Department of Agriculture and the distribution was carried out by our agriculture office so I don"t know how in the world they could have said we got kickbacks out of it. If there indeed is, my guess is that it was directed to whoever is their contact in the DA national office," said Malones in a telephone interview Friday.
"Actually, we received the fertilizers before the elections pero wala namon gintandug dayon, ginpatapos namon anay ang eleksyon kay basi ma-akusaran kami sang [but we didn"t distribute them right away, we waited for the election to end for fear we could be accused of] electioneering. After the elections, ginpatawag namun tanan ang mga kapitanes [we summoned all the barangay captains] of Maasin"s 51 barangays and each got equal shares of the fertilizers. I have with me the complete list of everyone who received them, proof that it went to local farmers as intended," Malones lengthily explained.
"What I can say is that Cong. Arthur Defensor, who identified Maasin as one of the three towns that received the project, had been very honest with us. He even cautioned us mayors not to receive any money from the suppliers kay basi madisgrasya kami dira [because we could run in trouble with it]," he added.
Only fertilizers
Centena
Centena, meanwhile, has a more detailed story to tell.
According to him, the P3-million worth of liquid fertilizers are intended for distribution to each congressman belonging to the ruling Lakas party before the 2004 elections. However, Iloilo third district Cong. Arthur Defensor refused to accept the fertilizers and instead identified the towns of Maasin, Calinog and Lambunao as his intended beneficiaries of the project.
Centena said his town received 666 liters of Bionature liquid fertilizers during the campaign period for the 2004 elections. He, however, didn"t distribute them right away for fear his political opponent would capitalize on the issue and accuse him of bribing voters through the distribution of the said fertilizers.
"We started distributing the fertilizers on May 18, eight days after the election and after I have already been formally proclaimed as winner of the mayoralty race. Even then, my office didn"t have a hand in the distribution. It was the Municipal Agriculturist, Mr. Crispino Castro, who took charge of the distribution after we have announced during our flag ceremony the availability of said fertilizers," explained Centena.
Castro, for his part, confirmed Centena"s claims, saying the Municipal Agriculture Office handled the distribution of the fertilizers. "Wala kami sang ginapili, tanan nga barangay may nakabaton gid sang abono [We didn"t discriminate, in almost all barangays there"s someone who received fertilizers], only that it was distributed in first come, first served basis and until supply lasted."
He said the distribution ended on June 15 as shown by the list of more or less 500 beneficiaries now in his possession.
Asked to venture a guess as to where the supposed 30% SOP intended for Defensor could have went, Centena said it"s highly possible that the supplier, Jose Barredo, Jr., simply held on to the money as savings.
"I don"t care whatever negotiations they had up there but what I received was 666 liters of liquid fertilizers and nothing more. Now, if anyone could prove the distribution of the said fertilizers was not properly done, I would not stay a minute longer in my position and resign as mayor," the youthful mayor said.
"Besides, who am I not to receive these fertilizers that are given to us for free when I know these could be of great help to local farmers in my town?" said Centena in conclusion.