Former Agriculture Secretary and now Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The Sandiganbayan has denied the plea of Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap to dismiss his cases linked to the alleged misuse of the pork barrel funds of two lawmakers during his stint as Agriculture secretary under the Arroyo administration.
In two separate resolutions both dated Nov. 28, the court’s Third and Sixth Divisions ruled that the cases against former Misamis Occidental Rep. Marina Clarete and Nueva Ecija Rep. Rodolfo Antonino should proceed to a full-blown trial.
‘Puerile’
Yap allegedly entered into the memorandum of agreement (MOA) with nongovernment organizations (NGO) endorsed by Clarete and Antonino for the use of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations of P62.63 million and P14.55 million, respectively.
The court called “puerile” Yap’s assertion that he should not have been indicted because the prosecution failed to establish his criminal acts connecting him to the alleged scheme.
Yap argued he had no part in the release of the funds to Kabuhayan at Kalusugang Alay sa Masa Foundation Inc., or the falsification of the supporting documents to make it appear the projects were implemented.
Yap argued that his execution of the MOA was not a crime, that he had no part in Antonino’s selection of Buhay Mo Mahal Ko Foundation Inc. (BMMKFI) as the NGO partner, and that he had no part in the transfer of funds from the implementing agency, National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor).
Arrest warrants
The Sixth Division has ordered the issuance of arrest warrants against Nabcor officials Alan Javellana, Rhodora Mendoza, Encarnita Cristina Munsod and Maria Ninez Guañizo, as well as BMMKFI representative Marilou Antonio and education materials supplier Carmelita Barredo.
Sought for comment, Yap maintained his innocence: “I merely transferred PDAF from one government agency to another. I never implemented any PDAF project with an NGO much less release any funds to any NGO.”
“If I never released any funds to any NGO, if I never implemented any projects with any NGO, how did I malverse any government funds?” Yap said in a text message.