Ex-agriculture chief posts P300K bail for 'pork' cases

MANILA, Philippines — Former Department of Agriculture secretary and incumbent Bohol Third District Rep. Arthur Yap has posted P300,000 bail bond for graft and malversation cases in connection with his alleged involvement in the pork barrel fund scam.

The bail posted by Yap before the Sandiganbayan Third Division Tuesday afternoon was for two counts of graft (P60,000), one count of malversation of public funds (P40,000) and one count of the complex crime of malversation of public through falsification of public documents (P200,000).

Yap posted his bail after the anti-graft court issued a resolution dated August 15, finding probable cause to hold him as well as the primary accused in the cases, former Misamis Occidental First District Rep. Marina Clarete, on trial.

“After a careful review of the records, the Court finds that probable cause exists in these cases... Accordingly, let warrants of arrest be issued against all the accused. Likewise let Hold of Departure Orders be issued against them,” the Third Division's ruling read.

Third Division clerk of court Dennis Pulma, however, clarified that since Yap has already posted his bail, there is no longer a need to issue a warrant of arrest against.

Meanwhile, Clarete and the other respondents in the cases have yet to post bail as of Wednesday afternoon based on the Third Division records.

Filed by the Office of the Ombudsman on August 8, the multiple criminal cases stemmed from the alleged misuse of Clarete's Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel from 2007 to 2009 amounting P62.63 million.

Clarete was charged with 18 counts of graft, seven counts of malversation and 11 counts of malversation through falsification.

The ombudsman originally wanted no bail for Yap and Clarete's malversation through falsification cases, but Third Division chairman and Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, in a short hearing on Tuesday (August 22) maintained that the Supreme Court had already ruled in 2015 that malversation through falsification is a bailable offense.

The Third Division set Yap and Clarete's bail for malversation through falsification at P200,000 for each count.

Based on the information of the cases, Clarete “unilaterally chose and endorsed” three questionable non-government organizations (NGOs) to implement her seven PDAF-funded livelihood projects without the benefit of a public bidding required under Republic Act 9184 of the Government Procurement Reform Act.

Five of the projects were supposedly awarded to Kabuhayan at Kalusugang Alay sa Masa Foundation Inc. while one project each to Kasangga sa Magandang Bukas Foundation Inc. and Aaron Foundation Philippines Inc.

The ombudsman said the three NGOs were “unaccredited and unqualified” to carry out the projects.

Furthermore, the ombudsman said field investigation revealed that none of the projects were ever implemented.

The ombudsman said the NGOs instead submitted falsified supporting documents such as the list of beneficiaries, accomplishment reports, disbursement and liquidation reports, delivery receipts and sales invoices.

The ombudsman said it was Clarete herself who certified the correctness of some of the documents submitted by the three NGOs.

As for Yap, the ombudsman said he, as then Agriculture secretary, was the signatory to a memorandum of agreement for one of the five projects awarded to KKAMFI.

Also named as respondents in the cases were 21 former officials of three abolished state firms National Agribusiness Corporation, National Livelihood Development Corporation and Technology Resource Center and nine private individuals from the questionable NGOs.