The Ombudsman has filed charges against Cotabato Rep. Nancy Catamco and former Poro, Cebu mayor Edgar Rama owing to their alleged involvement in the fertilizer fund scam in 2004.
Ombudsman prosecutors filed at the Sandiganbayan one count of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and two counts of malversation against Catamco, Rama, and Catamco’s former husband Pompey Reyes.
But the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed five graft charges against former National Food Authority administrator and now Bohol 3rd District Rep. Arthur Yap.
Yap was charged in connection with 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.
Also charged were former vice mayor Ronald Pajaron Carcellar and former Sangguniang Bayan members Ruben Estrera Jr., Gorgina Gonzales, Sergio Zurita, Nilo Gorgonio, Gregorio Dorog, and William Surbano.
They were charged with one count of the graft.
The Ombudsman accused Rama and the former members of the municipal council of giving unwarranted benefits to Perzebros Company, a company owned by Catamco and Reyes — before their annulment – for a P5-million procurement contract for 3,333 bottles of Vitacrop liquid organic fertilizers priced at P1,500 per bottle.
The contract was intended for the implementation of the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Inputs and Farm Implements Program for the town of Poro
But the prosecution cited the Commission on Audit’s findings that the fertilizers were overpriced by at least P1,092 per bottle or a total amount of P4.58 million.
The Ombudsman recommended a P110,000 bond for Catamco, Rama, and Reyes while P30,000 each for Carcellar and the former councilors.