The Jocjoc Bolante Corruption Case

Who is Jocjoc Bolante?

He was an undersecreatary in the Department of Agriculture during and before the 2004 presidential elections. A rotarian and a congressman wanabe.

What is the Jocjoc Bolante Case?

He was instrumental in using the people's money (supposed to be for use in buying fertilizers to be given to farmers). It was alledged that the funds were diverted to Gloria Arroyo's campaign kitty. During the senate hearing it was more or less established that some things were fishy.

Before he could be made to answer, he fled the country. Now he's in an American jail pending deportation. He's applied for a visa to stay in the US. So far he's been denied.

What is the government doing with the case?

The senate has investigated the case and the findings were forwarded to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman (The First Gentleman's classmate, has been sitting on the case for a long time.

Additional Information from Newsbreak

An ongoing saga first exposed during the 2004 campaign period and which resurfaced at the height of the impeachment attempt against the President, the fertilizer scam has crossed the Pacific with the arrest of its supposed main architect, former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante.

Arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport in July last year for a canceled visa, Bolante is now fighting deportation proceedings in a US court, even as he seeks political asylum there, claiming that the opponents of the President wanted him dead. His court troubles began when he snubbed repeated Senate subpoenas for him to shed light on the P728-million fertilizer fund allegedly distributed to Arroyo’s allies during the 2004 election.

A member of the Makati Rotary Club like the First Gentleman, Bolante was Arroyo’s first appointee to the agriculture department, which she headed for a time after she assumed the Presidency in 2001.

It was Bolante who distributed the fertilizer fund to local allies of the President, supposedly to subsidize farmers. But a Senate investigation showed that the funds were misused for political purposes. The Senate has recommended the filing of plunder charges against Bolante, as well as former Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo.

Farmers have claimed that not one centavo trickled down to them. “The farm inputs and implements program is a premeditated, systematic and grand agricultural theft. In the words of farmers and taxpayers, the fertilizer scam is the rape of the nation,” the Senate finding said.

Resumption of Senate hearings

Bolante says that out of the one hundred plus project proponents, only 22 did not receive funds.

Sen. Santiago

1. Committee report was not signed by her because two of her cousins were included, but were later exhonerated.

2. Its Bolante's duty to prove his innocence.

3. Bolante cannot invoke right against self-incrimination because a Senate investigation is not a criminal proceeding.

Who contacted you during your stay in the United States?

No one contacted me from the Philippines. I was not allowed to receive calls from overseas during my detention. Outside that, "Joey" and my lawyer. No one from the government called me. (drawing an exasperated exclamation from Sen. Santiago and laughter from the gallery)

Name any other officer in the Philippine government with authority to dispose of 728M?

No answer.

Jose Barredo testified earlier regarding kickbacks that Bolante gets 25%, LGU officer gets 30%, supplier gets 30%, and runner gets 15%. What's left for farmers and proof they received?

I don't know Barredo. 91% of 728M already liquidated as according to COA.

Why Fessian Philippines only source of fertilizer?

I don't know why. I don't implement the program. I just download the funds from the central office.

What happened to the remaining 2.8 B appropriation?

Unclear answer.

How did DA look for fertilizer supplier?

Only LGU has the authority to search and source fertilizer.

Any public bidding?

I did not know, because each project proponent is independent from each other. Each project implementor was responsible for its procurement.

Any relationship with Fessian Philippines?

No.

Sen. Cayetano

Are you denying any knowledge of anomaly?

I was not involved in the operations, because these were started after May 2004 when I was already mostly travelling out of the country. I have no knowledge. Liquidation of fund disbursements is submitted to COA. As far as I know, operations monitor the implementation. It might be the Undersecretary for Operations or Regional Directors.

Is there any other pending cases against you?

The Ombudsman cases and money-laundering cases.