Ex-Agri chief’s bid to dismiss charges fails

THE Sandiganbayan’s Special Third Division has maintained its denial of former Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary and now Bohol Third District Rep. Arthur Yap’s plea to nullify charge sheets wherein he was accused of graft, malversation - sation along with former Misamis Occidental Rep. Marina Clarete and other individuals.

Last year, the Office of the Ombudsman filed charges of graft, malversation through fal - fore the Sandiganbayan against Clarete and other individuals over alleged misappropriation of Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel allocation totaling P62.63 million between 2007 and 2009.

Yap, who was DA secretary at the time material to the cases, is an accused in two of the 18 counts of graft, in one of the 11 counts of malversation through seven counts of malversation filed against Clarete.

- cused Yap has failed to present any sound reason for the court to overturn its resolution promulgated on November 28, 2017,” the court said in a resolution promulgated on March 1.

In the resolution promulgated on November 28, 2017, the Sandiganbayan’s Special Third Division denied his Motion for Partial Reconsideration (Re: Resolution dated 15 August 2017) with Mo

The court said in its November 28 ruling that the informations ( charge sheets) “in these cases the crimes charged.”

It added that there was no violation of Yap’s right to speedy disposition of cases because “there was no inordinate delay in the termination of the preliminary investigation in these cases.”

The November 28 ruling prompted Yap to file a motion for reconsideration wherein, according to the March resolution, he argued that “the averments in the informations in Criminal Cases Nos. SB- 17- CRM- 1526 to 1527 do not constitute violations of Section 3( e) of [ Republic Act] 3019.”

RA 3019 is the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.