Araos holds vital information on fertilizer fund scam - Gordon

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today said that the testimony of Malyne Araos is of much significance to the Senate blue ribbon committee probe as she holds vital information on where a part of the P728-million fertilizer fund went.

Gordon, committee chairman, said Araos is the sole signatory of the bank account where the payment of P105 million for fertilizer products bought from Feshan Philippines Inc. was deposited.

"There is much gravity to the information that Ms. Araos holds. She is the sole signatory of a bank account where only about half of the amount went to the supposed recipient," he said.

During the Dec. 22 committee hearing, Feshan Philippines president Julie Gregorio revealed that while the company declared a P105-million sales of fertilizer from the government, the amount actually paid to them was only P50 million.

Gregorio said the payment was deposited to an account opened at the Land Bank Philippines branch in Elliptical Circle in Quezon City under the name of Araos, who is a former employee of alleged runner Marites Aytona.

Gordon said the committee is trying to establish communication with Araos to convince her to come out and testify at the panel's hearing scheduled on Jan. 20.

"Ms. Araos is the sole signatory of the bank account and therefore she knows where all the money went," he said.

"We already know that the P50 million went to Feshan as attested by Ms. Gregorio. What we want to know now is where the other P55 million went or who benefited from it," he added.

Gordon said the committee is now on the path of gradually revealing where the P105-million of the whole P728-million fund went. The next step, he added, would be to find out on whose hands the remaining P623-million landed.