Was there a “lapse of judgment” on the part of Senator Jinggoy Estrada when he made a not-so-surprising decision to give away P10 million of his pork barrel funds for the previous occupants of City Hall? We all know that Estrada has been linked to the gigantic P10-billion pork barrel scam that lately made every ordinary Filipino citizen furious due to the unconscionable appetite of some “honorable lawmakers” to inflate their personal bankbooks. The P10-billion scam that has revived calls to scrap the hefty allocation of pork barrel fund for every senator and congressman (P200 million/year for each senator and P70 million/year for each congressman) suddenly surfaced in the City of Friendship, also known as Tagbilaran, where most residents are not that passionate about organic farming. But a COA (Commission on Audit) report said otherwise. The P10-million budget for organic farming for the city, coursed through a never-been-heard-before NGO (non-governmental organization) now identified as CARED Foundation Inc., had somehow upgraded the reputation of Tagbilaran from being the heart of the province’s commercial activities to that of being the cynosure for everything that is organic, therefore toxic-free.

When we talk of P10-million budget for organic farming, of course we are talking about serious stuff. This is not a P100 amount for a trying-hard budget for some sort of backyard gardening. This is P10 million. And the COA has been left in quandary as to how a P10 million amount can be used to fertilize the dreams of poor farmers, if there are any, in the asphalt jungle of Tagbilaran. COA, in its attempt to exercise economy of words, has described this huge amount as something for “mere distribution of organic fertilizers and sprayers.” In its report, COA named former City Mayor Dan Lim, CARED Foundation Inc., Simonette Briones (president of CARED Foundation), City Agriculture Officer Vicente Loquellano, the 11th SP, and former OIC-City Accountant Eleanor Beniga as the hands that shaped the anatomy of the P10-million pork barrel fund courtesy of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of senator Estrada. To make the long story short, Estrada gave P10 million to the City Government, and the City Government accredited an NGO (CARED Foundation) as recipient of the pork barrel windfall, and this NGO purchased some bottles of fertilizers and sprayers as evidence of expenditures equal to the P10 million blessings.

The COA is shaking its head. It has uncovered a plethora of questionable transactions. Among the things that made COA sleepless were the following: there was no project’s work and financial plan that would have addressed the purpose of the project; the NGO has no Bohol-based officers; there was no background check regarding the true nature of CARED Foundation; and there were many other things that COA has found disturbing. The biggest question is: who has/have benefited the P10-million gift from senator Estrada? We are yet to hear a single name of a Boholano farmer who would be categorically identified as one of the true beneficiaries of this P10-million project. Even city agriculturist Loquellano is seemingly forgetful now as to who the real beneficiaries of the almost clandestine project. But he knows there are sprayers languishing at City Hall. He knows there was a 10 million pesos bestowed by a senator for organic farming in Tagbilaran. He knows that the former city mayor approved the release of the P10-million goodies. We also know. Of what? We don’t know. Of what? We don’t know who the beneficiaries were.

Was there a lapse of judgment? Well, tell it to JLN.