Ex-DAR chief Pagdanganan faces graft raps

Former Agrarian Reform Secretary Roberto Pagdanganan and five others are facing graft and malversation charges in the Sandiganbayan for allegedly investing P30 million earmarked for a coconut plantation in a private corporation in 2004.

Also charged were former National Council on Food Security and Jobs Creation (NCFSJC) executive directors Charles Avila and Bienvenido Garrido, Philippine Coconut Authority Deputy Administrator Rodolfo Vargas and Calauag Quezon Integrated Coconut Processing Plant Inc. board members Victorio Conducto and Domingo Lavilla.

The Ugnayan ng Kapatiran ng Nagsasariling Organisasyon sa Kanayunan Inc. (Unorka) had charged that the placement by DAR of P30 million in the newly formed processing plant was highly irregular.