Sheep purchase “Overpricing” in Negros Occ, Lawyer dares mayor to sue Marañon

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Provincial Legal Officer Jose Ma. Valencia yesterday dared Pulupandan town Mayor Magdaleno Peña to file charges against Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena if there is evidence to prove that the P80.3-million worth of sheep purchased by the provincial government from Australia last year was “overpriced” by P40 million to P60 million.

“If they have the evidence, they should file a case in court. We cannot go on arguing about this alleged overprice and there is no arbiter to decide on it,” Valencia said.

Valencia was reacting to media reports quoting Peña as saying that he was urging Vice Gov. Genaro Alvarez and the members of the Provincial Board to summon Marañon and Decena to answer queries on the purchase of sheep that he claimed to be anomalous and overpriced.

The best way to finally resolve the matter is to file a case before a proper forum so a third party can decide on the merits of the case, said Valencia, adding that debating it in the media is useless.

Peña reportedly said the PB should file its complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman so the subject persons may be charged with plunder, but Valencia said he did not see the logic of the PB filing a case against something they themselves had authorized, such as the purchase of sheep.

Decena, in a press statement last week, said Peña’s allegations about the cost of the imported sheep were highly speculative and irresponsible, and to a great extent, “twisted” just like any other propaganda tool. He alleged it was obviously meant to dampen the high spirits of the local dairy and livestock sector since the issue was brought up on the day Negros Occidental hosted the 16th National Dairy Congress and Expo in Bacolod.

Peña countered in a statement also that Decena should stop deceiving the public because the prices for these livestock can be found online on the websites of various Australian sheep suppliers, so his facts are not based on a mere guesswork.

Valencia however said internet figures are not accurate,and have to be verified also by a competent party.

In his letter to Decena dated Feb. 6, Peña said his research showed that suppliers from various ranches in Australia offer a much lower price per head of livestock compared to the prices offered by the International Livestock Export Pty. Ltd (ILEPL), which is the supplier of the province.

The sheep are priced at P16,000 for an ewe and P25,000 for the ram with additional P600 per sheep every month of retention at the ranch before the dispersal to cover costs of feeds and other utilities, Peña claimed.

The ILEPL priced P10,559.32 or AUD$230 and P12,395.70 or AUD$270 for every head of ewe and ram, while his research showed that the highest price for ewe and ram is pegged at AUD$100 and AUD$150, respectively, the mayor said.

Decena however said the contention that they canvassed lower prices for ewes and rams had to be verified as the prices of livestock, just like any other commodity are largely dependent on the prevailing trend in the market.

The decision on the purchase of the sheep was made by the provincial government, based on the approved Livestock Development Agenda and the proposal duly concurred in by the PB, under Resolution No. 1003 (amending resolution numbers 0816, 0817, and 0821 all series of 2011 due to changes made in the pro-forma invoice no.001-2011 from 1,110 heads of breeding sheep from Australia and authorizing the Provincial Governor to sign the contract for and in behalf of the province and thereby designating the governor and the provincial; treasurer as signatories) and the Land Bank of the Philippines that granted the loan for such purpose, said Decena.

He said the information based on the accusers’ research was unverified, and that Peña cited ex-farm prices without the incidental costs like package freight, handling, custom charges, plane fares, truck rental, duty tax, inspection fees, drugs and medicines as contained in the pro-forma invoice.

Peña, however claimed that the price differences of more than P50 to P60 million which he computed based on his quotations including incidental costs were still shocking. The payment of P80.30 million to cover the P62.20 million cost of livestock and the P18.09 million for the package freight were facilitated by the Land Bank based on the approved Pro-Forma Invoice No. 0001-2011 of the ILEPL in Perth, Western Australia.

The same invoice was duly concurred by Marañon and was certified correct by the PB, as contained in  Resolution 1003, dated Nov. 9, 2011 and two other ordinances (nos. 003 and 007) also supported the Livestock Industry Program, said the mayor. (FREEMAN)