MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte defended the Department of Agriculture’s purchase of fertilizers, saying it was “above board and transparent.”
“As to the alleged overpricing the procurement of urea fertilizer, the DA reported that the centralized fertilizer bidding is above board, transparent, and has in fact brought urea prices down,” Duterte said in his report to Congress made public Tuesday.
The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) earlier called on the Senate to investigate the alleged “overpriced” fertilizer supply contracts of the DA worth P1.8 billion.
Sinag claimed that retail prices of urea, particularly in Central Luzon, were only between P800 and P900 kilogram.
But the DA assured the public that the procurement process for fertilizer supply contracts was trustworthy.
The urea fertilizers bought by the DA were “a lot cheaper” compared to previous purchases ranging from P1,300 to P1,500 per 50-kilogram bag, DA said.