Ombuds drops graft raps against Bohol Rep. Yap
The Office of the Ombudsman has dismissed five graft charges against former National Food Authority administrator and now Bohol 3rd District Representative Arthur Yap, over the procurement of fertilizers under the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani Rice Program in 2003.
In a statement and copy of the order released by Yap's office, his motion for partial reconsideration was granted in an order signed by graft investigation and prosecution officer Millicent Reyes, and approved by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.
Upon verification, the Public Information and Media Relations Bureau of the Office of the Ombudsman confirmed the release of the order on Yap’s case.
Yap, as well as former Department of Agriculture secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. and Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corporation (PhilPhos) representative Raymundo Cagampang were accused of conspiracy for allegedly intentionally favoring Philphos in the procurement of fertilizers for Mindanao.
The Ombudsman however noted in its order that there was no violation of laws as Yap still required a performance bond, which guarantees the fulfillment of a particular contract. “A second look at the case records shows that there was 'no performance bond policy,'” the Ombudsman said in the order.
The Ombudsman also noted that the cases transpired before the October 8, 2003 effectivity of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Government Procurement Act, which still allowed the practice of negotiated procurement of goods.
Yap said the dismissal of the Mindanao fertilizer graft cases and the earlier dismissal of the Visayas cases warranted a reversal of the Luzon cases, which are still pending at the 6th Division of the Sandiganbayan.
"The Luzon case involves similar transactions with the same set of facts and evidence as the ones in the Visayas and Mindanao. If the cases in the Visayas and Mindanao were dismissed, there should be no reason why the case in Luzon, should prosper,” Yap said.
Aside from the Philphos cases, Yap was also charged by the Ombudsman at the Sandiganbayan in connection with a supposedly anomalous car plan for Philippine Rice Research Institute employees, and the alleged misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund of former Misamis Occidental Rep. Marina Clarete.