Press Release
November 3, 2008

Senate blue ribbon urged to restart hearing on fertilizer fund scam now

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today urged the Senate Blue Ribbon committee to restart the investigation into the multimillion peso fertilizer fund scam right away by putting former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc Joc" Bolante on the witness stand.

Pimentel said the Blue Ribbon committee, chaired by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, can take over the probe moto propio or without waiting for any resolution by any senator or for plenary action from the Senate.

He said if Bolante cannot yet testify for health reasons, the committee should summon his attending physicians at the St. Luke's Medical Center-Quezon City to shed light on his condition.

Considering that Bolante has been confined at the hospital since his return to the country on Oct. 28, the minority leader said the Senate in-house doctors should now look into the state of health of the former agriculture official.

He said this will put to rest any speculation that Bolante is just feigning illness like any con artist to evade Senate investigation and possible criminal prosecution before the courts.

"I think there should be no more dilly-dallying on the part of the Senate. We should act decisively to avoid any suspicion that we are protecting Bolante, or being soft on him," Pimentel said.

Pimentel said when Bolante arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as a deportee from the United States, what struck him was the "Napoleonic posture" of former powerful administration official. He said this seemed to imply that Bolante would have no qualms resorting to all kinds of trick to prevent him from facing Senate probers and from spilling the beans about his involvement in the fertilizer scandal.

Although the case is already with the Office of the Ombudsman, he said it is imperative on the part of the Senate to hear his testimony and respond to questions that were left unanswered when he went into hiding and fled to the US.

"Now that he is here, let us see if he can fool around with the Senate," he said.

Pimentel said one of the questions that Bolante should answer is to identify the congressmen, local government officials and other persons who received their share from the fertilizer fund, including those who were not qualified as recipients.

He disagreed with the observation that it would be better to entrust the investigation to the Ombudsman where the rules of evidence in obtaining testimonies will apply while the objectivity of the Senate may be questioned due to the partisan tendencies of the senators.

On the contrary, Pimentel said the Senate probe will be more credible and fair in ferreting out the truth because the senators can raise all questions regardless of their political affiliations.

Pimentel also noted that the takeover of the investigation by the Blue Ribbon committee has the support of several senators, including Senate President Villar.

He said he saw no legal obstacle to the entry of the Blue Ribbon committee, pointing out that the Supreme Court did not grant Bolante's request for a temporary restraining order when he filed a petition questioning the validity of the arrest warrant against him issued by the Senate.

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