2 Congressmen In The Cordillera Region Linked To Pork Barrel Scam By COA

In a report released last April 28, the Commission on Audit (COA) named 49 lawmakers they believe used parts of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) allocations to alleged bogus foundations and suppliers.

Two of the names in the list are from the Cordillera Administrative Region. They are former Baguio City Congressman Bernardo M. Vergara and incumbent Kalinga Congressman Manuel S. Agyao.

According to the COA report, a total of 670 million pesos in pork barrel funds allocated to the 49 lawmakers went to dubious non-government organizations. These funds were supposed to help Muslim Filipinos. The findings were based on the 2013 annual audit report of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos.

Vergara allegedly used 6.82 million pesos while Agyao used 5.5 million pesos. The names of the rest of the lawmakers tagged in the scam and the amounts they allegedly released to bogus foundations can be found here.

Former Baguio City Congressman Bernardo M. Vergara (left) and incumbent Kalinga Congressman Manuel S. Agyao (right).