Aumentado names alleged culprits in Quedancor scam

Rep. Aumentado

By JUNE S. BLANCO

REP. Erico Aumentado (2nd District, Bohol) has pointed accusing fingers to alleged culprits in the Quedancor half-million peso scam that has tarnished his name and honor.

In a letter to OIC Director Nonnatus Caesar Rojas of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) thru Deputy Director for Regional Operations Services Virgilio Mendez, Aumentado said the Quedancor Swine Program Scam was allegedly committed by one Nelson Buenaflor, in cahoots with some Quedancor officials especially those of the Iloilo District Office led by Asst. Vice President Diosdado Sala, the Birks Agri Livestock Corporation and other parties.

The Bohol solon told NBI that the raid of the funding for the Quedancor Swine Program (QSP) implemented by the Quedancor Iloilo District Office from 2002 – 2007 involves P512,101,282.62.

The Commission on Audit (COA) had found numerous anomalies in the QSP. Unfortunately, he lamented, he was one of the respondents which were recommended by the COA before the Office of the Ombudsman to be charged for violation of R.A. 3019 and other laws for allegedly being one of the several Board of Directors of Quedancor from years 2002-2007.

But he said, he was not even aware of any QSP nor availed of any loan under such program. He has not attended any Quedancor board meeting because he did not assume the position because he was not informed officially either of his election or appointment to it.

His supposed membership was as national president of both the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) as provided for by law. However, he had let Raoul Villano, the LPP deputy secretary general and lawyer Monina Camacho, ULAP executive director, represent him.

He preferred representing his constituents in the Cabinet and National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) board meetings whenever matters related to local government units, governance and development were calendared for consideration.

Aumentado first entered public service in 1967 as senior provincial board member, until the present as congressman on his 4^th term. All these years, he said, he never engaged in the swine or any business to avoid any conflict of interest with his duties.

Neither did the Provincial Government of Bohol avail of the QSP as certified by Provincial Treasurer Eustaquio Socorin, Provincial Budget Officer Valeria Orig, Provincial Accountant Joseth Celocia and Assistant Provincial Treasurer Primitiva Ontong. Aumentado was governor for three terms prior to his current position.

He said his reputation and performance as a public official for about 46 years now, evidenced by numerous awards, are his castle and honor he is zealously guarding as the best legacy he can leave to my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren as well as the Boholano people whom he has served so well.

He asked Rojas to ascertain the true and correct identities of all the individuals who made possible the QSP scam and to file the appropriate charges that evidence may warrant after due investigation.

The solon also requested NBI to dig deeper into the Quedancor mess beyond the audit report of COA because he suspects that a well organized syndicate feasted on the Quedancor funds through misappropriation, conversion, misuse and/or malversation of public funds or raid on the public treasury.

He welcomes the separate audit conducted by COA on the QSP implemented outside the jurisdiction of the Iloilo District Office and asked for a copy of the audit report “for the sequel of my expose`in the House of Representatives of the Quedancor scam”.

He said given that the Iloilo district audit anomaly amounted to P512 million already, the plunder could possibly reach an aggregate of about P1 billion. 

Those responsible for the monumental anomaly were taking undue advantage of official position, authority, relationship, connection or influence to unjustly enrich himself or themselves at the expense and to the great damage and prejudice of the Filipino people and the Republic of the Philippines which is already plunder, punishable under Republic Act 7080 or the Anti-Plunder Law.

Cleansing Quedancor, he said, will make NBI an instrument to strengthen President Benigno Aquino III’s mantra towards the righteous path of governance.