Senators condemn DA executive's slay

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Richard Gordon vowed yesterday to initiate a Senate investigation to ascertain whether the murder of Agriculture Undersecretary Gumersindo Lasam had something to do with his knowledge of the alleged P728-million fertilizer fund anomaly.

Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, made the bow as he condemned Lasam’s killing.

“It is grossly alarming that another agriculture official who presumably had knowledge of how the fertilizer fund scam was carried out by callous individuals is once again silenced permanently,” he said.

Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Panfilo Lacson and Francis Pangilinan also denounced the killing.

Cayetano said the more there is a need to dig deeper into the fertilizer scam, as the Senate has investigated only a small part of the entire P728-million scam.

Pangilinan expressed outrage over what he described as the “apparent breakdown in the law and order situation across the nation.”

“We are sounding like a broken record calling on the PNP (Philippine National Police) and the justice system to go after those who with impunity commit murder and dastardly acts of lawlessness, but it seems we are losing the war against criminality,” Pangilinan said.

Lasam, 63, was shot dead by two motorcycle-riding men on his way alone to his farm in Solana, Cagayan on Tuesday morning.

Gordon said this is not the first time that a Department of Agriculture (DA) official or employee who had knowledge of anomalies in the agency had been killed.

In 1989, DA regional seed coordinator Geronimo Provido was gunned down in his own home by two men, two months after he reported that DA-Region 12 officials had purchased overpriced seeds.

Marlene Esperat and Teofilo Mojica, who were also former DA employees, were also murdered, apparently because they knew about some irregularities in the department.

Senate testimony

Records showed that Lasam testified during the Senate hearings on the fertilizer fund scam on Nov. 25 and 27 last year on his capacity as former DA-Region 2 executive director.

“Aside from their connection with the DA, another thing in common among Esperat, Mojica, Provido and Lasam is their exposé on corrupt practices and other anomalies in the department,” Gordon said.

“Lasam had testified that former agriculture undersecretary (Jocelyn) Bolante had a direct hand in the implementation of the controversial project. With his assassination, we wonder whether Lasam knew more than what he testified before,” he added.

In his affidavit, Lasam testified that Bolante was directly involved in the implementation of the controversial Farm Inputs and Farm Implements Project from which the funds used in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam were sourced.

Lasam’s affidavit stated that by virtue of a memorandum issued by then Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo on March 16, 2004, Bolante was instructed to expedite the implementation of the farm implements project. 

According to the memorandum, all requests for fund assistance under the project would be subject to Bolante’s assessment, evaluation and approval.

Lasam further testified that Bolante issued a memorandum on March 17, 2004 instructing him to enter into a memorandum of agreement with local government units (LGUs). 

The memorandum stated that Lasam was authorized to sign and effect the payments to the LGUs, subject to availability of funds and other requisites.

Meanwhile, authorities were still clueless on Lasam’s killing. Aside from being possibly job-related, there were speculations that Lasam’s killing might also have something to do with a land dispute or his supposed plan to seek a local elective post in next year’s elections.

Chief Superintendent Roberto Damian, Cagayan Valley police director, however, refused to speculate on the motives behind Lasam’s killing.

“First things first, we cannot rush things. We are still gathering (pieces of) evidence and have to analyze them carefully before making any pronouncements so as not to prejudice anyone or make any inaccurate presumptions,” he said.

President Arroyo has offered a P1-million reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators.

The regional police command has formed Task Force Lasam led by Senior Superintendent James Melad, deputy regional director for operations, to go after the killers. – With Charlie Lagasca, Mike Frialde and Paolo Romero