BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 6 called on the provincial government of Negros Occidental to pay for missing fertilizers valued at P2.3 million.
The 789 bags of fertilizers of the DA disappeared from the Negros First Rice Processing Center (NFRPC) in Barangay Tabunan, Bago City and were presumably stolen.
There were a total of 4,000 bags of fertilizers allocated to Negros Occidental to aid farmers affected by Super Typhoon “Odette”.
Engineer Albert Barrogo, officer-in-charge regional executive director of DA-6, disclosed that the local governments of Kabankalan City and Cadiz City, and the municipality of Cauayan have formally requested their share of the fertilizers.
Kabankalan City has an allocation of 350 bags of fertilizers, Cadiz City has 200 and Cauayan has 193 remaining bags for withdrawal, based on DA-6’s data.
Barrogo instructed their legal office to conduct an investigation into the missing fertilizers.
On Oct. 18, 2022 the municipality of Cauayan reported that they were not able to withdraw the fertilizers allotted to them at the NFRPC since there were no more fertilizers left.
The subsequent inventory count would reveal that 789 bags of the abovementioned fertilizers with an established value of P2,367,000 were missing.
Provincial Legal Officer Atty. Alberto Nellas Jr. said the formal investigation hearing for Hermenegildo Basilio and Joy Cardinal, both agriculturists of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, will no longer proceed after receiving their response.
Basilio and Cardinal were probed as they were both stationed and were in-charge of the warehouse.
Basilio, in his response, claimed he was merely instructed to sign for the fertilizers received from the DA.
Nellas said evidence presented to them is sufficient for them to make a decision on the case./PN
