This deluge of support comes as Yap, seven agriculture officials and two businessmen were charged Tuesday with graft by Marlene Garcia Esperat before the Ombudsman.
Esperat was the former agriculture action officer of the resident Ombudsman.
Yap, who is set to assume his post as agriculture secretary on August 15, immediately debunked the charges as "baseless, pure harassment and a demolition job" designed to delay or block his confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.
Also accused of graft were Agriculture Undersecretaries Jocelyn Bolante and Edmund Sana, Assistant Secretary Ibarra Poliquit, Assistant Secretary Belinda Gonzales, DA legal service chief Eduardo Garcia, and DA chief accountant Ophelia Agawin.
The businessmen facing the same charges are Jesus Varela, Benjamin Tabios and Pepito Alvarez, owner of the Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corporation (Philphos).
Esperat alleged that juggling of funds from the agriculture department to NFA took place, and overpricing of fertilizers that NFA bought from Philphos last year through negotiated contract.
Five NFA regional directors in Mindanao confirmed that the bidding for fertilizers allotted for farmers in the South was made in Davao City last June 27, 2003 at Felis Resort in Davao City.
The directors were Antonio de la Cruz Southern Mindanao; Francisco Garcia Central Mindanao, Ernesto Macasinag Western Mindanao, Flo Pascual Northern Mindanao, and Omar Kamid Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
As a host region for the fertilizer bidding, De la Cruz, who was present, said Carmencita Talob, Commission on Audit chief for Southern Mindanao attended the bidding process as an "observer."
"We had the bidding for the fertilizers for farmers in Mindanao. It was transparent and above board," De la Cruz firmly said in an interview, refuting charges that it was a negotiated contract with Philphos.
Farmer leaders in Mindanao said Yap has performed well, citing that NFA buys on time farmers’ crops at support prices, and stabilizes the price of rice even if oil prices soared several times and the peso-dollar exchange rates shot up.
They were led by Dahlia Non, Regional Farmers Action Council (RFAC) chairman for Southern Mindanao, and Edwin Paraluman, Provincial Farmers Action Council chairman for General Santos City and Sarangani.
Non and Paraluman said their organizations had benefited from the fertilizer program of the DA as they bought "urea" fertilizers from NFA at prices lower than the commercial outlets.
Both had earlier asked President Arroyo in their manifesto to appoint Yap as Agriculture Secretary.
"Administrator Yap has helped us a lot. We were able to buy urea fertilizer at P50 per bag, lower than those sold by commercial stores," Non and Paraluman said in separate interviews.
The two leaders also deplored the filing of graft cases against Yap as "politically motivated and part of a smear campaign to discredit Yap before the public and the Commission on Appointments."
