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Raps readied vs DA execs, key figures in scam

Senate probe establishes Bolante, Palace-bagman link

By Angie M. Rosales

12/18/2008

The Senate is putting the pieces of the puzzle together on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam with its trail likely leading to the doorsteps of Malacañang after it was established in yesterday’s inquiry that former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante, the purported architect of the scam, knew other key personalities in the anomaly even long before the fertilizer fund program was initiated.

Blue ribbon committee chairman Sen. Richard Gordon issued the assessment after testimonies from witnesses affirming association of Bolante with one of the alleged financiers, Jaime “Jimmy” Paule, who, in previous Senate probes, was alleged to have links with Malacañang.

Gordon said the prosecution of Bolante, along with several others, will be initiated even before the Senate terminates its ongoing inquiry.

Agriculture Undersecretary Belinda Gonzales affirmed yesterday Gordon’s earlier findings that Bolante met at least twice with Paule which made matters worse for the former Agriculture official.

Gordon said it only goes to show that Paule and Bolante

apparently knew each other long time ago, the said incident narrated by Gonzales supposedly took place sometime 2002 or some two years before the fertilizer funds were released.

Gonzales told Senate probers that Bolante asked her to accompany him to a meeting that took place in New World Hotel (now called Renaissance Hotel) in Makati City where she met Paule, his lawyer and several other people who were asking for help.

Bolante, in previous public hearings, flatly denied knowing Paule prompting Gordon to take note of the several times during earlier proceedings that Bolante denied knowing incidents and certain personalities related to the meeting.

On questioning by Gordon, Bolante insisted he could not truly remember if Paule was in that meeting and even cast doubt on Gonzales’ testimony and her recollection of the event. Gonzales was then assistant secretary at the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Gordon said a preliminary report on the result of the inquiry is being drafted and will be submitted before the Senate conducts the next round of public hearing, scheduled on Jan. 20.

Gordon said among those set to be recommended for prosecution in the preliminary report, aside from Bolante, are the suspected members of the syndicate including Paule, alleged “runner” Maritess Aytona and DA regional directors who facilitated the anomalous transactions with officials of Feshan Phils. Inc. which supplied the overpriced fertilizer.

The Senate, upon the recommendation of the committee, also issued yesterday four new arrest orders against Paule, alleged “runner” Maritess Aytona and two officials of the firm that supplied the fertilizers, Julie Gregorio and Redentor Antolin of Feshan Philippines Inc.

Antolin was already slapped with contempt charges for “lying” before Senate probers in the hearing conducted last Dec. 10, when he claimed that alleged financier Leonicia Llarena alias “Nezy,” was the one who approached Feshan along with Aytona when it was supposedly the other way around.

“For testifying falsely or evasively in the committee’s hearing, thereby delaying, impeding and obstructing the inquiry into the subject, Antolin is hereby cited in contempt of this committee and ordered arrested and detained in the Pasay City jail until he purges himself of this contempt,” the 13 senators who signed the arrest document stated.

Aytona, Gregorio and Paule were likewise ordered arrested for their continued failure to appear and testify in the hearings.

The Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) were given instructions to implement the order and report within 24 hours upon serving the warrants to the individuals.

“Today, again we express our disgust. If they think that we are going to give up on these people (they’re mistaken)… The fact that these people have refused to show up, these are not the acts of a normal person because a normal person will not go on hiding, evade our proceedings as what they are apparently trying to do,” Gordon said.

When pressed for answers on his previous meetings with Paule, Bolante said what he could recall was that a lawyer representing a group of businessmen went to his office to complain about alleged fixers in the DA and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“They were afraid that these fixers are connected with the DA so I made sure that I brought with me someone who is familiar with the officers and employees of the DA. I brought Gonzales so I have somebody to witness the discussion,” Bolante said.

But when asked to identify the lawyer, Bolante said he could no longer recall. He likewise claimed that he could not remember if Paule was with the said group that he and Gonzales met up with at that time.

The senator said he found it incredulous that Bolante could not recall details of the meeting, considering it was also about a complaint on alleged corruption in the DA.

“In sum, Bolante must have had prior relationship with these people before they were able to get into business with him,” he said.

In an earlier meeting with Gordon a few days before the hearing, Gonzales told him a different story. Allegedly, Paule and his group were trying to “recoup” a supposed failed investment.

“Apparently they were not able to recover it… the word used was ‘bumawi’ or ‘pabawiin sila’ or ‘para makabawi’… but a year and a half later, between 2003 to 2004 when the funds were released, nakabawi na si Paule sapagkat malaki ang pera binigay sa kanya at least alam natin may P12 million siyang binayad sa Feshan,” he said, referring to the amount supposedly Llarena lent to Paule and Aytona to finance the acquisition of the fertilizer supply.

“As a lawyer I have tied Bolante to this guy who is obviously one of the fixers, one of the people manipulating the fund scam. (But) so far, he is the one principally liable right now,” the senator said.

“Bolante knows all about it and i think he must have been aware… I do not know if he did it because he wanted to use the money for the campaign but I’m sure that money was used for political purposes. I cannot make him more guilty which he is, as far as I’m concerned,” the senator said.

Llarena who finally surfaced before the committee, denied being the alleged “financier” in the fund scam, saying that she merely issued post-dated “guarantee” checks amounting to P12.6 million for which she received an accommodation fee of 10 percent.

She said Paule and Aytona, whom she had known since 1998 while they were still in the construction business and the publication of textbooks, approached her and asked for help since they do not have a credit line nor a checking account.

It was Aytona, she said, who introduced her to Gregorio, president of Feshan and Antolin when the three paid her a visit in her office.

Gordon, however, was not easily convinced by her testimony especially when he tried to pry on Llarena’s business relationship with Aytona and Paule as she could not provide any other information as to their personal and professional background.

“It seems illogical that you will lend someone such a huge amount of money without knowing where it will be spent,” Gordon said.

Based on the testimony of Llarena, the bulk of the money she lent to Paule and Aytona were issued between April and September or during the election period, most of which were a little less than P100,000 but totaling P2 million.

“There are still many loose ends but we already have enough to submit a report,” he said.

The senator said he will have the report circulated for signing of the committee members before calling another hearing after the Christmas recess or when Congress resumes regular sessions in January.

“We have established the existence of a rampant syndicate operation at the Department of Agriculture. This (alleged) syndicate has been operating for a long time by getting financiers who provide the show money to officials to facilitate disbursement of public funds for questionable deals,” he said.