Ex-DA chief faces new ‘pork’ raps

Former agriculture secretary and now Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap is facing another set of criminal charges in connection with the pork barrel scam.

Yap was charged on Tuesday with two counts of graft and two counts of malversation of public funds before the Sandiganbayan.

He was included in the charge sheet filed against former Nueva Ecija congressman Rodolfo Antonino for the alleged misuse of P14.55 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel in 2007.

The Office of the Ombudsman said Yap should be held liable for entering into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the defunct National Agribusiness Corp. to implement Antonino’s liveli- hood project.

The Nabcor in turn signed a MOA with the non-government organization Buhay Mo Mahal Ko Foundation Inc.

Graft probers said the foundation was chosen without public bidding and despite lacking the qualification and accreditation. The projects were never implemented, the ombudsman said.

Bail was recommended at P140,000 each.

On Tuesday, Yap posted P300,000 bail for the first set of charges he is facing in connection with the pork barrel scam. The cases stemmed from the alleged misuse of the PDAF of former Misamis Occidental congresswoman Marina Clarete from 2007 to 2009 amounting to P62.63 million.