Philippines: Still waiting for fertilizer scam to hit the fan again..

This is from the Manila Tribune.
The Arroyo administration is trying everything possible to sweep the fertilizer scam under the rug it would seem. Now the Ombudsman who is responsive to Arryoyo's concerns may get involved. Some Catholic Bishops are asking Bolante (Joc-Joc) to come clean.

Joc-joc, Ombudsman under close Senate scrutiny
By Angie M. Rosales
11/01/2008
Opposition senators are keeping a close watch, not only on the former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante but also on the Office of the Ombudsman, watching and waiting whether Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez will now take action on Bolante’s pending case and how she will be treating this, as her office never made a move to take any action on the same case for over two years, or after the Senate furnished the Ombudsman with its report substantiated with explosive documents, all pointing to the diversion of the fertilizer fund.
Senators warned it would only place the Ombudsman under a cloud of suspicion, especially if her investigation of the P728-million fertilizer fund, allegedly involving Bolante, runs against the findings of the Senate probe.
Senate President ProTempore Jinggoy Estrada yesterday cautioned the Ombudsman, pointing to a possible implication on the Senate conducting again its inquiry into the matter.
“They beter not try to compete with the Senate in conducting an investigation on this issue. We have a standing arrest warrant against Bolante dating back the time of Sen. (Ramon) Jun Magsaysay Jr. (then chairman of the agriculture and food committee) and I think that is still valid,” Estrada said.
The Senate official said he supports the call of some of his colleagues to place Bolante under investigation the moment he is discharged from the hospital and placed under the full custody of the Senate and answer questions hounding him, the prime of which is his being the alleged architect the in the fund scam.
But the senator also cautioned that anything can happen at this point, noting the apparent delaying tactics being employed by the camp of Bolante, in a bid to evade testifying before the Senate.
Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II joined Estrada in issuing a warning to the Ombudsman, even as he blamed inaction and delay on the part of Gutierrez as a root cause of slipping public confidence in the government which he said is severely eroding the stability of the democratic system.
“Gutierrez has lost credibility because she has let known allies of this administration off the hook,” Roxas said.
He stressed that the Ombudsman’s inability to combat corruption may lead to more calls from various sectors, such as the call made by five Catholic bishops a few days ago, for leadership change,which may have catastrophic political consequences.
“Gutierrez has lost the mantle of judicious impartiality and is perceived as a willing tool of Malacañang to prevent its allies from being brought to justice,” Roxas said.
He said Gutierrez failed in her constitutional duty to “protect the people” as she repeatedly ignored calls for quick action on sensational cases involving graft and corruption in the Arroyo administration.
“Instead of being the people’s ally in cleaning the government, the Ombudsman has become a tool of the corrupt in this administration as far as the public can see,” said Roxas.
But for Sen. Edgardo Angara, he said in an ambush interview with reporters in Malacañang yesterday that the case of Bolante is a non-pending matter in the Senate as far as the present 14th Congress is concerned.
The Bolante case is a closed case, he said.
He also mentioned that Bolante will be investigated by the Ombudsman with a lawyer accompanying him and therefore will give him the right to be represented by a lawyer, which the Senate does not, since it does not allow lawyers of summoned witness during the Senate inquiry to speak in behalf of their clients.
Senator Angara said there are more important issues of concern to the senators.
Palace executive secretary Eduardo Ermita has reiterated that upon the Congress adjournment, this has to take action on the new procedures to follow starting with the publication of rules and that the new elected members will have to approve these rules.
With this statement, Ermita explained the treatment of the Senate warrant of arrest against Bolante, has received differing interpretations from the members of the present Congress with Sen. Manuel Villar contesting that it has not lapsed, but with Senator Angara arguing it has.
Ermita said that the executive branch will be depending on the decision of Supreme Court to rule on the validity of warrant of arrest issued to Bolante.
He also said that President Arroyo has been consistent in her policy statement during this period that her administration is being attacked by critics with impeachment cases and allegations on involment in the fertilizer fund misuse.
“The President keeps on reminding the Cabinet that we will focus on pro-poor programs and projects that will help us weather this crisis,” Ermita said.
Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar also yesterday expressed her willingness to testify before the Ombudsman and in the revived Senate investigation into the P728-million fertilizer scam.
According to Las Piñas City Rep. Cynthia Villar she would like to testify to clear her name. She said that she had been named as one of the beneficiaries of the fertilizer fund.
Villar said that she had nothing to do with the fertilizer funds and that she and other Metro Manila lawmakers had been the recipients of such funds.
Villar said that Bolante listed her name and the name of other Metro Manila lawmakers as recipients of the fertilizer funds without their knowledge. In fact, she said her district did not receive such fertilizers.
Meanwhile, a Church-based group has taken its appeal for Bolante to cooperate with the probe on fertilizer fund scam to the highest level.
The Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) said its members are praying for Bolante to reveal the truth and identify all those who are involved in the alleged anomalous project.
Sr. Mary John Mananzan, AMRSP chairperson, said they asked God’s intervention for the erstwhile government official to “see the light” and “tell the truth”.
“Our prayer is for him to see the light and he will see that he can really make a difference in the future of this country,” said Mananzan at a forum in Quezon City Wednesday.
“If he’s going to tell the truth, I think it will have a very great repercussion in the future of this country,” she said.
Bolante, tagged as the chief architect of the so called fertilizer scam, returned to the Philippines Tuesday night after more than two years in detention in the United States.
He was rushed to the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City but is considered to be under hospital arrest. His lawyer had asked the Supreme Court to void his arrest. “We are praying that God will move him to say something for the good of the country so that he will have a legacy for his family that although he did wrong, he told the truth and was redeemed,” Mananzan said.
Gerry Baldo and Pat C. Santos