Transcript of Senator Mar Roxas' interpellation
of former DA Usec. Joc-Joc Bolante

MAR: Finally, after two and a half years, nandito ka na rin. Not because of your own free will, but because naubos na ang proseso doon sa Amerika sa iyong appeal for asylum, at inihatid ka rito ng mga US marshall sa ating bansa, kung saan inaresto ka ng Senado sa airport, at iyan ang dahilan kung bakit nandito ka. Magsimula tayo sa totoo: not because of your own free will, but because all of the attempts that you undertook to evade failed, and now finally, after two and a half years, you are here. Kailan inaprubahan ni Presidente Arroyo yung paggamit nitong pondo na ito para sa kanyang eleksyon?

Joc-Joc: Your honor, President Arroyo was not involved in this particular project of the Department of Agriculture. The implementation of the P728-million farm input-farm implement program was approved by DBM without the approval of President Arroyo.

MAR: Mahirap paniwalaan iyan, Mr. Bolante, dahilan sa kilala natin ang Pangulo, na siya ay isang micromanager, nakikialam sa mga butingting ng pamamalakad ng lahat ng bagay sa gobyerno. Para masabi na hindi niya inaprubahan ito, napakahirap lang tanggapin. P728 million ito. Tiningnan ang kabuuang budget ng Department of Agriculture, where you were the finance officer and administrative officer, and this P728 million is equivalent to 25%, one-fourth of the budget of the DA at that time. Imposible na ganitong kalaking halaga ay ire-release na hindi magkaroon ng approval mula sa Pangulo.

Nasa testimonya ni dating Sec. Emy Boncodin. When asked if the fertilizer fund request by Undersecretary Bolante for the DA was upon the instruction of the President, Secretary Boncodin replied, "I would imagine so." Iyon ba talaga ang testimonya mo rito, na ganitong kalaking halaga ay hindi alam ng Pangulo na ire-release? Napakapoderoso mo naman, na ikaw lang at ang DBM ang nag-release nitong P728 million.

Joc-Joc: Una sa lahat, I would like to clarify that the P728-million farm input-farm implement funding was not a unique funding for 2004. It is a funding activity in the DA present in all banner programs in the DA... If you check at the expenditures of the DA, you will always find that component, because it is necessary... It is not something that required the approval of President Arroyo. It came from the 2003 budget, which shows it was not something that we worked on from February (2004)...

MAR: Iyan ang sinasabi mo, Mr. Bolante. We also have the records. Ang punto dito ay, kilala natin ang pamamalakad sa gobyerno. Ganitong kalaking halaga, hindi nare-release na walang pahintulot, na walang paalam sa Pangulo. P728 million, which by the way, was originally P28 million as designed by the DA. Lumobo ito sa P728 million for 2004, and since 2004, hindi na ganitong kalaki ang pondo nito. Saan nanggaling ang listahan ng mga recipients na ito? Ikaw ba ang nag-apruba nito? Paano nagawa itong listahan?

Joc-Joc: Of the P28-million budget for fertilizer as stated by Frisco Malabanan, the P728 million was not just for fertilizer, but farm implements required for agriculture... which turned out to be inadequate. Precisely, Sec. Lorenzo augmented the fund for hybrid programs to something like half a billion. What I'm driving at is that the agricultural requirements that year was not only P28 million, it was more than half a billion.

MAR: Mr. Bolante, mahirap kasi sikmurahin yung pambobola mo. Yung P28 million, sinasabi mo pang-fertilizer, e itong P728 million, majority of this, mga P700 million, the liquidation of this was for fertilizer also. Kaya magmula sa dokumento ng DA, sa pananaw ng DA, ang pangangailangan sa fertilizer ay P28 million lamang sa buong taon. Ito ay lumobo nang higit sa P700 million. Tama, may pangangailangan para sa fertilizer, walang nagde-deny niyan. Ang punto rito ay lumobo ito, at lahat ito ginamit sa fertilizer, na sobra kaysa sa assessment ng DA na P28 million. So let's go to the next question. Sino nag-approve nitong listahan? At papaano nangyari na sa pananaw ng DA, sa pananaw mo, bilang tagapangasiwa nitong programa, na hindi DA gagawa nito, pero sa pamamagitan nitong mga pangalan ang pag-release nitong pera.

Joc-Joc: Una sa lahat, the DA was not really required to submit the list of project proponents, to be able to release the request of the P728 million. Because as I told you, the P728 million was part of the 2003 budget. We could have merely requested for the lump-sum release of the P728 million.

MAR: Excuse me, part of the 2004 budget, not 2003. It was released in 2004.

Joc-Joc: Yeah.. It was actually the unutilized fund of the 2003 budget that was requested for release as early as September 4, 2003. The 2004 budget was a reenacted budget, as far as I know.

MAR: Precisely, Mr. Bolante, reenacted. Ibig sabihin, na yung buong extended portion ng budget ay 'savings' na. Pwede na itong ilagay ng administrasyon sa kahit anong bagay na gusto ng administrasyon. At dito nila dinesisyunan ito, P728 million, more than 20 times what the DA said was needed, P28 million. Ngayon, mayroon nang listahan. How did this list come about?

Joc-Joc: The Department of Agriculture, as far as I can remember...

MAR: Mr. Bolante, please answer the question. It was submitted, submitted under your signature, it was attached to the request - how did the list come about?

Joc-Joc: I'm just trying to put together my thoughts, your honor.

MAR: You'd have three years to put your thoughts together.

Joc-Joc: Your honor, I haven't even seen the records of the Department of Agriculture on these transactions. I'm just trying to recall as much as I could. I was saying earlier, we were not required to give a list but we chose to submit a list if only to ascertain that we would be able to protect the earmark for the project..

MAR: Mr. Bolante, is it your testimony, sinasabi niyo ba sa amin dito na gawa-gawa lang itong listahang ito? Just please ... who put the list together? How did it come about?

Joc-Joc: The list was prepared by my office, which was tasked by the Department of Agriculture to put together all pending requests for funding coming from different local government units. We had a database in my office of all pending requests so that when the funds became available, we prepared the list of project proponents which we submitted to the DBM. That's how the list was prepared.

MAR: Kayo lang ang gumawa ng listahang ito?

Joc-Joc: My office.

MAR: So paanong 105 congressmen lang? Hindi ako makapaniwala and I'm sure that there are other congressmen who have requested. So paano na itong 105 lang ang nasa listahan? At paano na ang actually released ay limited lamang dito sa 105 congressmen, 53 governors, 23 mayors? Ano ang proseso? Again, sinasabi mo sa akin na ikaw lang ang gumawa nito? Iyan ba ang testimonya mo?

Joc-Joc: Hindi lang po ako, my office staff assisted me, because that is one of the functions of my office..

MAR: Meaning, you did not obtain any approval from your principal? From the President?

Joc-Joc: No, your honor.

MAR: So what you're telling us, para lang magkaliwanagan tayo, P728 million ikaw lang, on your own, napa-release mo sa DBM to be distributed to all of these recipients, also just on your own, without consulting, without asking, without getting so much a prior leave, na "Mrs. President ito ha ..." Napakahirap namang lunukin niyan. Alam naman natin na walang kumikilos dito sa gobyerno natin na hindi naaaprubahan ng kataas-taasang opisyal dito.

Joc-Joc: Your honor, Sec. Lorenzo made a request on Sept. 4, 2003 for the release of the fund.. That fund was part of the regular budget of the DA. We did not need the approval of the President for its release.

MAR: This is really difficult to accept.. We had hoped that we would receive the truth here, but this has no semblance to it. This program was designed for kurakot. There is no approval. This is just you on your own. And therefore, you will be the only one to be held to court here if that is your testimony. Let me go to another point. Do you know this person? (shows picture of former DA employee, the late Marlene Esperat) Kilala niyo ba siya?

Joc-Joc: If you give me the name ... I don't know.

MAR: Her name is Marlene Esperat. Do you remember that she filed a case against you before the Ombudsman?

Joc-Joc: Yes, your honor.

MAR: Also for the same anomalies, using funds now of 2003. Do you recall that? Do you realize, were you aware, na pinaslang siya sa harap ng kanyang 2 anak shortly after she crusaded against these anomalies? For the very same actions that you are now here facing in the Senate? Anomalies on ghost deliveries, purchase on overpriced basis and purchase of wrong implements?

Joc-Joc: I heard about the report that she was murdered

MAR: She was murdered because she was trying to stop these anomalies that started in 2003. And now we are talking about 2004 activities. These anomalies had ballooned to P728 million and if you are saying you were in charge of these, you did not do anything to correct it, and in fact designed the distribution, and the purchase and the use of funds in a manner so that it is easily "kurakoted" - Did you realize that, Mr. Bolante? (Shows a second picture) This is what she looked like after she was shot.

And now to my last point. I just want to guide you through the statements you made in the United States . I went and perused the transcripts of the proceedings in the United States . You said, you argued there that "the Senate investigation is politically motivated and that the Senators are using this as a tool to advance their own political agenda in opposition to President Arroyo."

You said before the US Court of Appeals, you testified under oath, that the entire investigation into the Fertilizer Scam amounts to nothing more than vindictive political gamesmanship. According to Bolante, the party in opposition to President Arroyo has engaged in an all-out campaign to overthrow the Arroyo government.

Those were the reasons you gave them so that they would grant you asylum. This is a copy of the committee report. Can you tell me who among the signatories, who among those who voted unanimously are engaged in vindictive political gamesmanship? Is it chair Ramon Magsaysay, whose presence I note? Chair Senator Arroyo? Who is using this investigation for their political agenda? That is in direct contravention to what you said in your opening remarks. You tell one story before one body, and another story before this one. Ganoon ba ang extent ng iyong effort to evade or to avoid telling the truth? You will tell them one story, you will tell them another story? Saan ka nagsinungaling, dito sa amin, o doon sa kanila? Both under oath!

Sasabihin mo ba ang lahat para lang maabswelto ang mga nagpasimuno ng fertilizer scam na ito, na alam natin kasabwat ka, pero yung approval, hindi galing sa iyo, dahilan sa hindi maaari na ganitong kalaking pera ay na-release na ikaw lang ang nagpa-release. At ganitong kalaking pera pinamudmod sa mga governors, sa mga congressman, sa mga mayor, na ikaw din lang ang dumesisyon.