Suspect in fertillizer scam to leave hospital to testify: Philippines

The Senate better make sure that Joc Joc does not slip away on them before he ever testifies this Thursday before the senate. Joc Joc seems a slippery fellow who could slither off into hiding somewhere again with a little help from his friends!


‘Joc Joc’ can leavehospital, say docs

Appearance before panel set Thursday
FORMER agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc Joc" Bolante will come face to face with senators on Thursday after his doctors said he is fit to be discharged from the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.
While he could be summoned to appear today, Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan said the Senate granted Bolante’s request that he be given more time to stay in the hospital, citing his physician’s advice.
The request was contained in a letter faxed to the Senate dated Nov. 10, addressed to Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Edgardo Angara.
A copy of the letter was also sent to Senate President Manuel Villar.
Pangilinan said the letter was verified and confirmed by the lawyer of Bolante and by the office of the Senate President.
He said Bolante executed the letter in the presence of the lawyer.
Bolante is being accused as the mastermind of the P728 million fertilizer scandal, where funds allocated for the government’s fertilizer program for poor farmers were allegedly diverted to President Arroyo’s campaign kitty in the 2004 elections.
The Senate committee on rules maintained that the arrest order issued by the previous Congress remains valid.
"A new warrant (against Bolante) is not necessary," Pangilinan said.
"The consensus in the committee is to continue with the investigation of the Bolante case. The Blue Ribbon will take cognizance of the issue and proceed with the investigation," Pangilinan said.
The rules panel acted on Senate Resolution 637 filed by Sen. Mar Roxas, inquiring on the status of the arrest order against Bolante and Resolution 702 calling for the reopening of the fertilizer fund probe.
Roxas said his two resolutions will allow the Senate to tackle the issue immediately, once approved by the plenary.
Pangilinan noted the Senate’s agriculture and food committee report submitted during the 13th Congress that the probe will not end until Bolante "reveals the truth behind the fertilizer scam."
Six of the nine members of the rules panel attended the closed-door meeting, namely Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson, Juan Ponce Enrile, Francis Escudero, Roxas and Loren Legarda.
Pangilinan said the contempt citation and the order of arrest against Bolante were made and issued by the Senate, itself being a continuing body, by a majority of 21 members.
"Co-extensive with the legislative branch’s power to investigate is the power to compel the attendance of witnesses in investigations and to commit for contempt for their refusal to testify. The warrant of arrest against him, therefore, remains enforced as he continues to defy facing the Senate investigation," he added.
"Bolante will remain under Senate custody until he reveals to the public the truth behind the fertilizer scam," Pangilinan said.
Minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said Bolante should be jailed in the New Bilibid Prisons in if he continues to defy the Senate.
"That is the way we should handle witnesses who obfuscate issues and try to evade the processes of the Senate," he said.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Bolante also has to explain the P1.1 billion more from the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani program that was discovered by the Senate during its investigation on the scam.
"So more funds wasted and probably more names will come out. Kaya lalo pang dapat si Bolante pumunta rito para ipaliwanag niya what is this all about," Lacson said.
He said the Senate wants to find out if Bolante was really the "architect" of the scam or he acted on orders of "higher-ups."
He said that based on Special Allotment Release Order by then Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin, the Agriculture department released P728 million on February 3, 2004 and another SARO for P1.1 billion was issued a week later.
The House committee on agriculture has tentatively scheduled a hearing on the fertilizer fund scam today.
"We know the Senate has already conducted an investigation through the Blue Ribbon committee even if it’s the same, we think the House should conduct its own inquiry," said panel chair Rep. Kahlil Abraham Mitra (NPC, Palawan), author of Resolution 848. – Dennis Gadil, JP Lopez, and Wendell Vigilia

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

Philippines: Former official to be arrested on return from US.

This is from the Manila Tribune.
It will be interesting to see if Bolante is actually arrested or manages to disappear. His arrest and testimony could be embarassing to the government. He knows a lot about a longstanding scandal having to do with a fertilizer fund. Some urban politicians managed to get paid from this fertilizer fund. I suppose that was to grow Arroyo lots of votes!






DFA CLAIMS NO REPORT YET ON DEPORTATION
Senate to arrest Bolante; gov’t evasive on his arrival
By Michaela P. del Callar
10/27/2008
The government until yesterday remained tight-lipped on the arrival of controversial former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante in the country, raising the specter of a repeat of the abduction of Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, a key Senate witness in the anomalous $320-million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal, upon his arrival from Hong Kong where he went to evade a Senate inquiry.
Lozada eventually revealed all that he knew about the controversial deal in the Senate inquiry and said that he was snatched by state agents from the airport.
Like Lozada, Bolante will likely be served a warrant of arrest from the Senate upon his arrival in Manila tomorrow because of his involvement in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr said.
He added the Senate sergeant-at-arms can implement the arrest order against Bolante on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the Senate.
Pimentel also favors the re-opening of the investigation into the fertilizer fund scam if Bolante arrives in Manila.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) was tight-lipped on details of
Bolante’s impending deportation of Bolante who was accused of diverting million of pesos supposedly for the purchase of fertilizers to the campaign fund of President Arroyo in 2004.
Foreign Affairs officials declined to give interviews and comments when asked about details and preparations being made by the government for Bolante’s on Tuesday.
DFA officials said they have not received an official report from the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago, Illinois on the deportation proceedings. The consulate in Chicago has jurisdiction on the case of Bolante, who is detained at the Kenosha county jail in the state of Wisconsin.
They said, however, the Philippine government will continue to provide assistance to Bolante until he is safely returned to Manila.
“We don’t have details of his arrival nor can we confirm that he really is coming back this week. However, the DFA, through its consulate in Chicago will provide him with whatever assistance that he needs and will ensure that his rights are protected because he is a Filipino citizen,” one official said.
DFA sources said Bolante will be escorted by US Marshals on his flight back to the Philippines.
The Tribune earlier reported that Bolante is arriving at 11 p.m. on Tuesday via Northwest Airlines Flight 71.
Bolante, who was arrested on July 7, 2006 in Los Angeles, California, was accused of diverting P728-million fertilizer funds of the Department of Agriculture to the campaign kitty of President Arroyo for her 2004 presidential bid.
In Aug. 27, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago denied the former Deaprtment of Agriculture official’s petition for review of his asylum claim.
The court ruled that Bolante “cannot meet his burden of proof on his asylum claim” and that his “fear of persecution is objectively unreasonable” after failing to provide specific information or details about it.
With Bolante’s deportation, the Senate is expected to revive its investigation on the fertilizer fund scandal involving the President, who is facing another impeachment complaint at the House of Representatives.
The impeachment charges were filed by opposition lawmakers and were recently endorsed by former staunch ally and ex-House speaker Jose De Venecia Jr. Although lacking in numbers in the administration-controlled Lower House, De Venecia’s support is expected to give voice to the complaint, which has been quashed thrice in the past.
Pimentel added if Sen. Edgardo Angara, chairman of the committee on agriculture and food, does not want to reopen the case, the Senate Blue Ribbon committee should investigate it motu proprio.
He added the Senate blue ribbon committee can assume jurisdiction of the case from the committee on agriculture which had conducted an exhausted probe of the anomaly under the chairmanship of former Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr.
Pimentel noted the Office of the Ombudsman has not resolved the graft charges against Bolante.
Due to the failure of the Ombudsman to decide on the case, there is still no criminal case against Bolante that can serve as basis for his arrest by law enforcement agencies.
He added that some senators have urged the Department of Justice to issue a hold departure order against Bolante to prevent him from leaving the country again and evade investigation and prosecution.
Malacañang insisted that the government has not prepared any special arrangement for Bolante’s arrival.
Bolante fled to the United States two years ago to evade a Senate inquiry on the fertilizer fund scam.
“Why the need for special preparations? The government does not make such plans on the return to the country of an ordinary citizen,” Deputy Presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said on radio.
Golez said Bolante’s possible return is being hyped up by critics of Mrs. Arroyo.
Golez had said if parties are really after justice, then a case should be filed against Bolante in court to get to the bottom of the fertilizer fund controversy.
“As enshrined in the Constitution, if you want to know the truth and if you want to bring justice, then it has to be brought in the right courts, in the right forum,” he said.