TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Former agriculture secretary and now Bohol 3rd District Rep. Arthur Yap vehemently denied allegations of former officials of National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR) that he ordered payoffs to broadcasters "to stop criticisms on NABCOR projects."
"Malicious and vicious lies," was how Yap described the allegations contained in the sworn statements of former NABCOR executives Rhodora Mendoza and Victor Cacal that "Erwin Tulfo and Carmelo del Prado Magdurulang (popularly known as Melo del Prado) accepted P245,535 in bribes" from him in 2009, as published in the broadsheets recently.
The national papers reported that Mendoza and Cacal "are also respondents in the plunder and malversation charges filed by the DOJ before the Office of the Ombudsman."
Yap declared: "I did not order them to pay any media outlet or media operative. I did not tell them 'pay Erwin Tulfo'. I did not authorize them to 'pay Melo del Prado' or pay any X mediaman. I have no order to that effect. If they can show that there is a paper that shows that I ordered them to pay anybody, I will challenge them because I never told them to pay anybody."
The congressman, referring to the NABCOR officials, said that if " you follow the rules, then you don't need to drag people like me. And make me a scapegoat. You can be made free. The law will find you innocent. So that's all I'm saying."
Yap however clarified that there is no law prohibiting to tap the media to disseminate information about government projects. "All government agencies are allowed to use media outlets. It's not illegal. You can use media outlets because you need to inform people what you are doing and your projects. This serves the need of transparency," he said.
In lashing back at Mendoza and Cacal, the congressman said that during his time as agriculture secretary, he never signed a single contract with NGOs and foundations that some legislators have dealt with.
"I am not part of the PDAF cases, because when I was agriculture secretary I did not sign anything. That is why I did not authorize a single payment to NGOs and foundations, and that's why they did not file a case against me because I have no direct relationship with them because I don't deal with them," Yap clarified.
On his confirmation as secretary of agriculture in February 2007, Yap clarified that he never bribed anyone. "Nobody asked money from me and I did not also pay anyone any money. I was confirmed as secretary of agriculture. It was a bi-partisan act. That means both administration and opposition [officials] — they all voted for my confirmation. So let's be very clear. That is also factual. Nobody asked money from me," Yap said.
Yap said that, on Oct. 14, 2008, he even issued a department order issued providing strict guidelines on the release of funds. "For the two NABCOR officials to defend themselves, they just have to look at those provisions and prove that it was followed and they are exonerated. They will be declared innocent. It's not my job to judge them. I'm not saying that they ignored it. It's a matter of evidence. They have to show that they followed."
He added: "What I'm saying is that there was a guideline. We did not allow payments without back-to-back physical accomplishment. The payments were in tranches. You cannot just get 90 percent. You first get a certain percentage and then you have to present an actual accomplishment then you collect like in a progress billing."