Bolante seen liable for plunder as ‘runner’ faces arrest

12/03/2008

An administration lawmaker yesterday said former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante may be liable for the capital crime of plunder for admitting he gave a large portion of the P728-million fertilizer fund to other parties than its originally inten-ded recipients.

This, even as both houses of Con-gress are set to issue arrest warrants for alleged Bolante go-between Maritess Aytona.

In an interview after yesterday’s hearing by the House committee on agriculture on the 2004 fertilizer fund mess, Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla said Bolante and his former chief of staff, Ibarra Poliquit, had committed technical malversation after the two, without soliciting from the Department of Budget and Manage-ment (DBM), the agency which released the fund, distributed more than P100 million to other entities after 23 of the original 181 beneficiaries decided to

forego the fertilizer fund allocated to them.

“And technical malversation involving more than P50 million is tantamount to plunder,” Remulla said.

During the hearing, Bolante admitted having changed the original list of recipients submitted to the DBM after 23 original beneficiaries, including Rep. Victor Ortega, who was La Union governor at that time, backed out.

Bolante tried to justify his move by saying that as per DBM policy, they could realign the fund provided it is used for the same purpose.

However, former Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin said the policy being cited by Bolante is not all-encompassing.

“That is true that you can realign a budget as long as it used for the same purpose. For example, a budget is released to you to construct a road in a particular barangay. Since the request is very general, you can realign the budget for the road construction to construct any road in that particular barangay,” Boncodin explained.

“But in this case, Bolante furnished us a detailed list of the beneficiaries for the P728-million fertilizer fund. So, he cannot, by himself, change the list of the beneficiaries and give to others the fund originally intended for the list of beneficiaries he had provided us. He has to request permission from the DBM.”

Commission on Audit (CoA) Dir. Flerida Jimenez concurred with Remulla in saying Bolante had indeed committed technical malversation.

In fact, Jimenez said that of the 90 percent of the beneficiaries who had liquidated their share in the fertilizer fund, the CoA has disallowed P173 million, mostly from the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Bolante named recipients and due to gross overpricing.

According to Jimenez, no less than P162 million was allocated to NGOs.

Meanwhile, committee chair, Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra, through a motion of Remulla, is set to ask Speaker Prospero Nograles to issue a warrant of arrest against Aytona.

Remulla asked the House to order the arrest of Aytona after the latter failed for the second time to appear before the House hearing.

Aytona also allegedly gave a fictitious address, #6 Rainbow St., SSS Village, Marikina City, where the subpoena for her was served.

However, the subpoena server said residents of the house claim they never knew Aytona having resided in the said address since 1979.

Aytona, was ordered to appear before the committee hearing after Capiz Rep. Antonio del Rosario alleged that she, along with a certain Jose Barredo, offered him a 30-30-40 sharing for the fertilizer fund. Thirty percent for the solon, 30 percent allegedly for Bolante and 40 percent for fertilizer for actual distribution.

Aytona also failed to appear before the Senate hearing.

Thus, opposition Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II is also thinking of having her placed under arrest by the upper chamber’s blue ribbon committee.

Roxas said he will call for the issuance of an arrest warrant by blue ribbon chair Sen. Richard Gordon when they resume their probe into the matter next week.

“I heard her name mentioned in the (last) hearing and the chair said he will ask the authorities to help in locating her to ensure her presence in the next proceedings. We will have her attend the next hearing,” he said.

Roxas was also in favor of the Senate’s citing former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc joc” Bolante in contempt and detaining him.

“It’s obvious that he’s been fooling us with his answers to the committee. This is clearly a scam, from the office of Bolante down to the regional directors, local government units, NGOs and people’s organizations. It’s where Aytona and (another alleged runner Jose) Barredo came in to get their commission. What’s missing in the picture is the actual mastermind and the connection of Bolante to that person,” he said.

Roxas said he and his colleagues are scheduled to discuss and resolve these matters today.

“I’m among those who signed a resolution calling for the detention of Bolante. We have no other recourse but to do this to ferret out the truth,” he said.

Gordon, for his part, is not about to let Bolante get away with claiming he lost his passport.

Bolante revealed during the panel’s second hearing on fertilizer fund scam that he had lost his passport when he came back to the country last Oct. 28 but did not have the time to report its loss, which Gordon said was too feeble an excuse considering that a passport is a pertinent credential.

“If one loses one’s passport one ought to right away go out and send a letter to the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) so that they would know,” Gordon said.

During the Senate blue ribbon committee’s third hearing, Bolante said the moment he lost his passport he told his lawyer to send a letter to DFA to inform them of the incident.

But Gordon read him a certification from the passport division of the DFA that passport number ZZ130689 was issued to Bolante and that the holder of the said passport has not reported its loss to the DFA in accordance with the procedure for the replacement of lost and stolen passports.

“Passport number ZZ130689 has not been cancelled by the department there being no affidavit of loss or police report that has been filed in accordance with the procedure for cancellation of lost and stolen passport. No new passport has been issued to Jocelyn Bolante,” the certification read.

Bolante explained that reporting the loss of his passport was not his priority since he and his lawyers had to rush a lot of things in connection with a pending complaint in the Office of the Ombudsman, his case before the Court of Appeals and the investigations at the Senate and the House that he had to attend to. Charlie V. Manalo and Angie M. Rosales

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