Bohol Gov. Arthur Yap was ordered suspended by the Sandiganbayan over his alleged involvement in the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam.
The anti-graft court, in a resolution dated September 18, ordered the Department of the Interior and Local Government to enforce the suspension of Yap for 90 days.
Yap, as a former agriculture secretary, is one of the co-accused of former Misamis Occidental Rep. Marina Clarete in the alleged funneling of P62 million in PDAF to bogus non-government organizations.
“To repeat, the court has neither discretion nor duty to determine whether or not a preventive suspension is required to prevent the accused from using his office to intimidate witnesses or frustrate his prosecution or continue committing malfeasance in office,” the anti-graft court said in the resolution signed by Presiding Justice and Division Chairperson Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justices Bernelito Fernandez and Ronald Moreno.
Yap in his defense said that he may not have unduly influenced witnesses against him as he left the Department of Agriculture in 2010.
From then until taking office as Bohol governor, Yap served as the province’s 3rd district representative.
Yap also cited the question on the validity of the charges against him as a petition for certiorari is still pending before the Supreme Court.
But the prosecution claimed Yap already acknowledged the validity of the information filed against him when he pleaded not guilty during his arraignment.