Fertile minds SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 07/12/2010

Fertile minds

SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 07/12/2010 In 2006, people asked: Where in the world is Luis “Cito” Lorenzo? In 2010, some wondered: Who in the world is Cito Lorenzo? Pinoys are notorious for being tremendously short in memory, but in this case, when the dust never settled on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, forgetting the key characters is unforgivable. To refresh our memory, erstwhile Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Cito Lorenzo disappeared at the height of investigation of the alleged scam, where funds intended to buy organic fertilizers and other farm inputs were allegedly diverted to the war chest of then President Arroyo for her 2004 campaign. Then DA Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante tried to implicate his former boss by testifying that it was Lorenzo who had ordered the release of funds under the DA’s Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) program. At the time, Lorenzo was already “keeping a low profile while doing good” — that is, serving as consultant for the Gawad Kalinga. After the elections, he left his post at the DA, which he had held from December 2002 to June or July 2004. News reports after the 2004 elections hinted that politics was behind his forced resignation from the DA, along with those of Joey Lina (former secretary of the Interior and Local Government) and (Social Welfare Secretary) Dinky Soliman. According to opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. in a July 12, 2004 Philippine Star report, “President Arroyo forced the Agriculture secretary to quit because she lost in the areas in Mindanao where the Lorenzo family runs agricultural plantations and agriculture-based businesses.” Then again, she gave him the task to “create one million jobs” as her adviser on countrywide development, a position which he held for a time.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100712com8.html

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