Anakpawis Partylist leads rally at Mendiola
to denounce bribery and corruption
and demand for a genuine agrarian reform program
Mendiola, Manila
October 11, 2007
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“October 11 was a grand gift-giving cum pay-off spree for Mrs. Arroyo! It is our money, the people’s money, which they have been distributing to already well-off politicians. We demand an urgent investigation of this top-level bribery scandal which took place right in the center of power in our country.” -- From Anakpawis statement |
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arroyo’s P300m grease money for congressmen, local officials should be scrutinized
malacañang payoff reminiscent of P728m fertilizer scam
Members of Anakpawis Partylist and other people’s organizations gathered in Mendiola this morning to condemn the administration’s efforts to consolidate its unholy alliance of plunderers and corrupt officials through bribery amounting to P300 million in people’s money.
“It makes people really sick to their stomachs. The continuous bribery committed by top government vultures reminds us of the fertilizer scam which diverted the P728 million pesos agricultural funds to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s 2004 campaign funds. What is further sickening is the thought that they can easily get away with it unscathed while the masses continue to suffer in dearth,” said Anakpawis Secretary General Cherry Clemente.
Clemente said that Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo must explain where and how they got the money which they distributed last October 11 as ‘christmas gifts’ to political allies.
According to news reports, Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio was given a bag with P500,000 in cash which may be used ‘to help in the barangay elections’ according to the palace staff who handed him the money.
“October 11 was a grand gift-giving cum pay-off spree for Mrs. Arroyo! It is our money, the people’s money, which they have been distributing to already well-off politicians. We demand an urgent investigation of this top-level bribery scandal which took place right in the center of power in our country.”
Meanwhile, Anakpawis brought with them an image of “Gloria the vulture” to which they hurled rotten vegetables while carrying a scarecrow to fend off the Arroyo administration from inflicting further harm to peasants and other toiling masses.
Anakpawis called for immediate attention to the plight of the Filipino peasants in line with the October peasant month commemoration. They called on the junking of the fake agrarian reform law which has been in effect since 1988 and is set to expire next year. “CARP is a total failure in terms of genuine agrarian reform or the distribution of land to the tillers and the alleviation of the peasants’ condition. We call on congress to move for its scrapping to pave the way for the legislation of a genuine agrarian reform law. No more extension for this pro-landlord and anti-peasant law which has become a land grabbing mechanism for the elite and powerful.”
Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran is set to file a new agrarian reform law which will genuinely address the need for distribution of lands from the big landlords to the peasantry on November. Peasant organizations under the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas and other people’s organizations in Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon will be holding a huge rally on October 19 Friday to reiterate their demands to the national government. Simultaneous rallies will also be held in different regions all over the country. # # #
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News release October 14, 2007 Reference: Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, secretary general, KMP and Bantay Pondo convenor
KMP welcomes Gov. Panlilio’s revelation urges others to do the same; As Malacanang is giving payoffs DAR officials malversed P847 million of DAR funds!
The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Bantay Pondo welcomed Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio’s revelation that indeed Malacanang has given payoffs not just to congressmen, but to governors and mayor as well. According to Danilo “Ka Daning” Ramos, secretary general of KMP and convenor of Bantay Pondo, “this administration has put corruption at a new level and it believes that it can buy anyone, while Malacanang is giving payoffs to local politicians DAR officials malversed P847 million of DAR funds. We are calling on the Senate to investigate these payoffs and the possible malversation of Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)-Agrarian Reform Facilities (ARF) Funds, falsification of public documents, abuse of discretion, and violations of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act) by top DAR officials.
“ This is one of the reasons why Marissa Fabricante of the Internal Audit Service (IAS) of the DAR wrote such a frustrated letter regarding the endemic corruption in the department and how the top DAR officials are trying to hide it. This is one of the most blatant example of using CARP as a cash of Malacanang and top DAR officials while farmers still do not own the land they till,”
“On December 29, 2006, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issued two different Special Allotment Release Orders, the SARO E-06-10435 with an amount of P347,305,000. 00 (P197,305,000. 00 for MOOE and P150,000,000. 00 for Capital Outlay) supposedly to cover requirements of operational support, agribusiness development, locally-funded projects and rehabilitation of calamity-stricken areas under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), and SARO E-06-10436 with an amount of P500,000,000. 00 purportedly to cover requirements of pump-priming projects under CARP,” said Ramos.
“On January 23, 2007, a Notice of Cash Allocation and an Advice of NCA issued (NCA-BMB-E-07- 0000-395) for SARO E-06-10435 was formally relayed by DBM Secretary Rolando Andaya to the DAR Secretary with accompanying Annex A (with DBM barcode 2007-S0142IL) on Proponent, Project Location, and Amount (worth P150,000,000. 00) referring to the said NCA,” added the peasant leader.
“But, another accompanying ANNEX A was released on another set of proponents and location but with the same aggregate sum of P150, 000,000.00 also referring to the same SARO E-06-10435 and NCA-BMB-07-0000- 395 with a different set of proponents and location. Then another ANNEX A came out as an attachment to the same SARO E-06-10435 with the same aggregate sum of P150, 000,000.00 but then again with a different set of proponents and location. This ANNEX A includes, among others, the First District of Rizal.,” expounded Ramos.
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“On May 4, 2007 a formal letter of request for transfer of funds to DAR Region 4-A was sent by Congressman Jack Duavit of the 1st District of Rizal to DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman. Another formal undated letter was sent by Atty. Geminiano G. Galicia Jr, Mayor of San Andres, Romblon to the DAR Secretary requesting realignment of funds. Both request letters to DAR refers to the same Notice of Cash Allocation, NCA-BMB-07-0000- 395. This prompted the Director for Agrarian Reform Fund Management Service of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council to reply and clarify that the 1st District of Rizal and San Andres, Romblon are not included in the official list of projects funded out of the NCA and that the NCA-BMB-E-07- 0000-395 being referred to do not have an attachment identifying the projects to be funded out of said cash release,” said Ramos.
“As for SARO E-06-10436 amounting to P500, 000,000.00 supposedly for pump-priming CARP projects, DAR Sec. Pangandaman sent a formal letter to the DBM secretary on January 30, 2007 attaching a list of various pump-priming projects/ FMR under CARP to support the request for approval and release of NCA amounting to P500, 000,000.00 chargeable against SARO No. E-06-10436. However, the attached list of pump-priming projects has a total aggregate sum of only P200, 000,000.00, to be implemented mostly in Regions 3 and 4-A areas, which is located in Dato Odin town Maguindanao worth P25, 000,000.00,” added the peasant leader.
“Now, a separate letter was sent by then DAR Region IV-A Director Dominador B. Andres to the DBM secretary also dated on January 30 (but received by the DBM on April 30, 2007) attaching a different list of various pump-priming projects/ FMR under CARP and requesting for the approval and release of SARO amounting to P500, 000, 000.00. Unlike the Pangandaman attachment of P200M, the list of Director Andres is requesting the DBM to release the entire aggregate sum of P500, 000, 000.00 for Region IV-A. On May 2, 2007 DBM Secretary Andaya referred back to DAR through Secretary Pangandaman the attached list submitted by Region IV-A Director Andres for confirmation, validation and appropriate action. The PARC through a Memorandum for Director Andres dated June 14, 2007 informed him that the allotment under SARO E-06-10436 has already been programmed and that the list does not include those cited in his attachment copy furnished to the DBM secretary on July 6, 2007,”
“Put together the two SAROs would involve P847, 305,000.00 aside from this other top officials of the DAR are also involved in changing the auditing agenda of the department to hide their crimes and use the people’s money for their own purposes. The CARP is evidently a very dirty program and is just being used as a cover to bleed the Filipino people dry of their money. While DAR officials are lining their pockets with hundreds of millions of pesos, farmers can hardly eat. It is obvious that if CARP is extended then more of the same type of corruption will happen. We calling for a probe on this mess and for the immediate junking of the CARP,” ended Ramos. # # #
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