By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Department of Agriculture (DA) must relentlessly pursue fertilizer companies that violate regulations and put farmers at risk, a House lawmaker said, warning that errant suppliers should face the full force of the law.
Abra lone district Rep. JB Bernos, a member of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, said the government must ensure that companies selling substandard or illegally produced fertilizers are prosecuted to deter further abuse.
“We must be relentless in putting to justice those who seek to hoodwink the government and our farmers by violating fertilizer regulations and selling questionable fertilizer products,” Bernos said.
“Hangga’t hindi nakukulong ang mga manlolokong ito, patuloy ang walang habas na pang-aabuso ng sistema at pangdedehado sa ating pamahalaan at mga magsasaka,” he added.
Bernos issued the statement following the filing of a criminal complaint by the DA’s Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) against Davao-based DO’s Asia Chemical Trading Corp. and its president over a PHP25.67-million government procurement contract for inorganic fertilizers intended for farmers in the Caraga region.
The FPA alleged that the company conducted fertilizer dealership activities in Caraga without the required authorization, despite having licenses limited to operations in the Davao region.
Investigators also alleged that the company used the prohibited “spinning palanggana” method, in which different fertilizer grades are manually mixed in a large basin. The process has been banned because it cannot consistently guarantee the required quality and uniformity of fertilizer products.
The company was further accused of supplying fertilizer registered under another manufacturer’s name without securing the required Third-Party Authorization from the FPA.
Bernos also cited the FPA’s earlier case against the owner of DQB Green Agricultural Products Trading for allegedly manufacturing regulated fertilizer products without a license in North Cotabato.
He commended the FPA and the DA for pursuing the cases, saying government agencies must remain firm in enforcing regulations designed to protect farmers and ensure that public funds are not wasted on questionable agricultural inputs.
“We have to be firm in ensuring that the products that consumers and farmers use pass regulations. Not out of undue strictness, but because these could spell the difference between public safety and harm; effectiveness versus inutility,” Bernos said.
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