Farmers from the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) today filed a plunder case before the Office of the Ombudsman against Pres. Benigno Aquino III, Budget Sec. Florencio Abad, Agrarian Sec. Virgilio Delos Reyes, Janet Lim-Napoles, and nine others over the misuse of P125 Million of the Malampaya Fund.

In a 16-page complaint with 70 documentary evidences, the KMP accused Aquino of releasing hundreds of millions of pesos to ‘bogus’ non-government organizations (NGOs) through the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

“The projects that the DAR entered into with the NGOs … are not in any way related to energy-development. Worst, those projects were never implemented. Not a single centavo was spent for the said projects and not a single farmer received any benefit therefrom,” the complaint said.

The projects include the purchase of millions of pesos worth of worms, allegedly to be used in vermi-composting.

Rafael Mariano, KMP chairperson, said that Aquino was the primary accused in the case because he approved the unlawful release of the funds.

The complaint said that in 2011, the Office of the President and the Department of Budget and Management approved the release of billions of pesos of Malampaya funds for projects or purposes “not related to energy exploration, development or exploitation.”

The DAR, one of the departments who were allocated the funds, entered into Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) for organic farming with several NGOs that are linked to Napoles, according to the complaint.

“Allocating millions for red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms is not only preposterous but revolting. Obviously, Aquino and his political lieutenants colluded with fake NGOs to deliberately plunder the Malampaya funds,” Mariano said.

These NGOs include WorkPhil Foundation, Samahan Magsasaka sa Kapatagan, Karangyaan Para sa Magbubukid Foundation, Kaupadanan para sa Mangunguma Foundation, and Social Development Program Farmers Foundation.

The plunder case cited a report by the Commission and Audit Report (COA) that the funds released to these NGOS were not liquidated, that some of the NGOs were not even registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and that some were engaged in projects “totally unrelated to the purpose or purposes for which they were incorporated.”

The COA recommended the filing of cases against the NGOs as well as the DAR officials accountable for the transactions.

“This plunder complaint (shows) that under the Aquino regime, the DAR is not only a conduit of big landlords, like the Cojuangcos, in strengthening their control over vast haciendas but (also) a conduit in plundering the nation’s coffers,” Mariano added.

Meanwhile, Malacañang has withheld comment on the farmers’ plunder charge, saying that it has yet to read a copy of the complaint.