Ombudsman junks raps vs lawmaker over fertilizer scam

The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed a criminal complaint filed against Bohol third district Rep. Arthur Yap in connection with alleged irregularities in the procurement of fertilizer when he was administrator of the National Food Authority (NFA) in 2003.

In a seven-page resolution prepared by graft investigation and prosecution officer Millicent Reyes, the ombudsman granted Yap’s motion to reverse its July 17, 2017 resolution finding probable cause to charge him and former agriculture secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. with five counts of graft before the Sandiganbayan.

The ombudsman said a review of the case showed that there was “no evident bad faith or inexcusable negligence”on the part of Yap when he allowed the award of the contract to Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corp. for the supply of fertilizer to NFA regional offices in Mindanao through negotiated procurement instead of public bidding.

The procurement was pursuant to a memorandum that Lorenzo issued authorizing Yap to enter into a negotiated procurement of fertilizer to ensure its distribution to farmers in time for the rainy season, the ombudsman said.

Executive Order 40 and its implementing rules allowed negotiated procurement “whenever the goods are to be used in connection with a project or activity which cannot be delayed without causing detriment to public service,” the ombudsman ruling read.

“There is nothing manifestly wrong or damaging in following the... directive... aimed at a timely distribution of fertilizer to farmers. Neither does obedience to it constitute bad judgment or conscious indifference to consequences insofar as other persons may be affected,” it added.

The ombudsman had earlier dismissed a graft complaint against Yap over the purchase of fertilizer for NFA offices in the Visayas.