Benguet farmer who billed Arroyo for strawberries gets paid, chided

MANILA, Philippines - After bringing his case to the media, a Benguet farmer who complained that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo did not pay for the strawberries she gathered from his farm a week ago finally got his payment Friday night. Radio dzRH reported Saturday morning that a representative from the Agriculture department went to the house of farmer Ignacio Canuto in Benguet and paid him P7,200 in cash. But the report said the DA representative also chided Canuto for complaining too soon because the department was still following procedures in paying him for the strawberries. For his part, Canuto thanked local media for bringing his plight into the open. Canuto billed President Arroyo P7,200 for the 60 kilos of strawberries she gathered in his strawberry farm when she visited La Trinidad in Benguet last Black Saturday. An initial report Friday afternoon had said he billed her P6,000 for 50 kilos of strawberries. Before media reports on Canuto's plight came out, Canuto could not get his bill to President Arroyo. His relatives complained that local officials in Benguet gave him the runaround. Canuto said President Arroyo, upon the suggestion of Benguet governor Nestor Fongwan and La Trinidad mayor Artemio Galwan, picked strawberries from his farm when she visited the town. President Arroyo and her entourage went to the area last Saturday to promote the strawberry industry amid complaints by Baguio City visitors that few strawberries from Benguet were available in the city market that day. - GMANews.TV