A LITTLE-KNOWN government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) failed to properly report the beneficiaries of tractors and machineries worth P12.89 million intended for farmers for agricultural development.

After verification, a provincial office of the Department of Agrarian Reform told the Commission on Audit that some of the equipment could not be located.

In its report on the Philippine Fruit and Vegetable Industries Inc. (Philfruits), auditors said that there is no proof that the tractors reached the hands of the farmer-beneficiaries.

“Neither was there documentation showing that the said tractors were directly distributed to the intended farmer beneficiaries under the Guimaras Project,” the commission said.

The Guimaras Project is a joint venture of Philfruit and the Agrarian agency entered into in December 2005.

The project aimed to equip agrarian reform beneficiaries of target municipalities with technical know-how through extension services, farm mechanization and professional agribusiness management techniques.

Under the memorandum, the Agrarian department transferred to Philfruits some P14-million for the purchase of machineries that would help farmers in the preparation of land for production of rice and corn.

In 2006, Philfruit bought two sets of four-wheel drive agricultural tractor, one tractor front-end dozer and 50 units of hand tractors worth P12.89 million.

However, state auditors said that there was “no documentation of the reported distribution to the intended farmer beneficiaries of the tractors and machineries.”

Auditors asked Philfruit to submit all documents that would prove that the tractors were indeed distributed, including a list of certified farmer-beneficiaries along with a written acknowledgment by each recipient.

After contacting the Agrarian office in Guimaras province, the GOCC management replied that only one of the four-wheel drive agricultural tractor was verified under the custody of former rep. Edgar Espinosa of Guimaras.

“The other unit was transported to an undisclosed location and the present status is yet to be confirmed from the staff of congressman Espinosa,” the Agrarian provincial office said.

The front-end dozer tractor is also under the custody of the former lawmaker. It is unused “but still in good condition.”

As for the 50 units of hand tractors, the report said that two are no longer usable, 16 units were “reportedly distributed to 16 people” and 32 units could not be traced.

Agrarian officials said that 12 units were seen by village captain Gacita of San Lorenzo municipality and that five were still operational.

The 32 missing units remained unaccounted for as of July 2012.

Audits commission asked the Philfruit and the Agrarian agency to locate the 32 missing hand tractors and validate the existence of the other units.