Congressmen asked to file charges vs alleged corrupt agriculture official

MANILA, Philippines - Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap asked congressmen yesterday to file formal charges against his undersecretary whom they accused of corruption in the handling of hundreds of millions in funds for farm-to-market roads.

“They have to file a formal complaint and I will initiate an investigation,” he said in an interview over dzMM radio station.

Without such complaint, Yap said he has nothing on which to base an order to investigate the unnamed undersecretary, whom several congressmen have labeled as the “most corrupt official in the Department of Agriculture.”

Asked to name his undersecretary, Yap hesitated, saying it would be unfair to the official to be identified in the absence of a formal complaint even if it was pointed out to him that it would likewise be unfair to the three other agriculture undersecretaries if their accused colleague remains unidentified.

Yap’s underling, who is reportedly close to a Malacañang personality, was accused of taking huge commissions and kickbacks in farm-to-market road projects.

The congressmen aired their accusation against the official during last Monday’s closed-door hearing on Yap’s P36-billion 2010 budget.

The initial part of the hearing was opened to the public, including the media. But when the exchanges between Yap and his officials, on one hand, and congressmen, on the other, started to get nasty, the public, especially the media, and congressional staff members were ordered out of the hearing room.

The closed-door conference became not only a gripe session but also an occasion for some congressmen to wangle concessions from Yap.

One of those who complained against the unnamed agriculture undersecretary was Rep. Reynaldo Uy of Western Samar.

Reached by The STAR for comment on Yap’s call for the filing of formal charges against his undersecretary, Uy said his witness is a contractor who has undertaken some of those projects.

He said the witness is hesitant to file a complaint, “but I will try to convince him.”

“He is fearing for his life,” he said.

During the closed-door hearing, another Samar congressman confronted Yap with his alleged failure to deliver on his promises.

With a raised voice, this lawmaker told the agriculture secretary that he had promised him tens of millions worth of farm-to-market roads, but that Yap has failed to keep his word.

Yap reportedly resented the way the congressman aired his gripes against him and told him, “Don’t shout at me!” before cooler heads intervened.

In the end, the lawmaker got what he wanted. Minutes after the verbal tussle, the agriculture secretary was seen signing a document in front of the Samar lawmaker, who later emerged from the hearing room grinning from ear to ear.

Other House members also received their share of farm-to-market road projects from Yap.

These are derisively called farm-to-pocket roads and roads-to-my-farm projects.

Yap’s department has been rocked by corruption scandals due to a string of reported anomalies, including the P728-million fertilizer fund scam in 2004, which was repeated in a lesser magnitude in 2007.

In 2004 and 2007, the agriculture department funneled hundreds of millions of pesos to private foundations and organizations, many of which were found to be bogus by government auditors.

Some of the fund recipients that auditors were able to locate could not account for the taxpayers’ money that they received from Yap’s agency.

Meantime, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. also said that Yap should explain some disbursements in his department.

“It is not enough that an unnamed undersecretary of agriculture is supposedly the most corrupt official of the department according to an unnamed congressperson. Sec. Yap himself should be investigated for the reported release of several millions in department funds to favored municipalities in the district in Bohol where he intends to run,” Pimentel said.– With Christina Mendez