Bermejo breaks silence, hits back at Del Rosario
ROXAS CITY – City Mayor Vicente Bermejo broke his silence and hit back at 1st District Cong. Antonio del Rosario over the latter's expose regarding the fertilizer fund scam.
He described Del Rosario's tirades as politically motivated and recycled issues hurled against him.
"I'm already full as I've been in silence for several months not because I'm guilty but I want to obey the ceasefire declared by Sen. Mar Roxas between him and me", Bermejo said in a presscon held at the mayor's office Tuesday.
According to him, the issues on the alleged fertilizer scam has been answered fairly and squarely years back when he was the governor of the province of Capiz.
"There were project proposals, MOA, purchase request, public bidding, purchase order, actual delivery and a list of the beneficiaries proving that they indeed received the liquid fertilizer in question," Bermejo said in an opening statement during the presscon.
He added, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) authorized him by virtue of Resolution No. 023, series of 2004 to enter the MOA with Department of Agriculture (DA).
He also said that the Commission on Audit (COA)-DA affirmed that all papers are in order.
Bermejo also said that what had been presented by Jose Barredo, an alleged salesman, in the Senate hearing were all lies. "My name in the deposit slip was forged, it was payable to the supplier, not to me as stated," he said.
Earlier, Del Rosario strongly denied dragging Bermejo's name into the fertilizer scam by saying that he wanted only to expose that there was indeed anomalies in the use of P728 million fertilizer fund.
"I didn't intend to implicate former Gov. Bermejo in the fertilizer scam but I want to expose the national issue of corruption," Del Rosario said.
Del Rosario, who grilled Bolante in congressional hearing regarding the fertilizer scam, said earlier that he turned down the offer by Jose Barredo of P5 million kickback from the fertilizer scam.
He also said that Bolante's runner on fertilizer offered him 30 percent kickback while another 30 percent will go to Bolante and the 40 percent will be used for the purchase of Foliar fertilizers.