Sunday, November 02, 2008 ‘Charge Jocjoc in court’
AT least two Cebu lawmakers prefer the filing of charges against former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante in court, rather than compelling the alleged architect of the P738-million fertilizer scam to testify in Congress.
Rep. Benhur Salimbangon (Cebu Province, 4th district) said that several politicians will merely use the issue to advance their political ambitions for 2010.
Rep. Pablo Garcia (Cebu Province, 2nd district) said that since the House committee on justice has investigated the issue, another probe is no longer necessary.
Bolante arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last week after two years of asylum in the United States. He was taken into custody by the House sergeants-at-arms before being rushed to a private hospital for a checkup.
But Iloilo Vice Gov. Rolex Suplico, a former legislator and one of the complainants against Bolante, was quoted as saying he would ask the House justice committee to compel Bolante to testify.
Suplico said that the House rules on impeachment allow legislators to compel the presentation of Bolante as a “hostile witness.”
“We have the right to know,” Suplico said.
Since the House justice committee already started its investigation on Bolante’s case, Salimbangon said it would be better for the committee to continue, rather than
handing the probe over to the Senate.
However, if the complainants have sufficient basis, Salimbangon suggested that they file the case in court instead, to keep the issue from becoming too politicized.
The agency that released the fertilizer funds should also come out and reveal the recipients of the allocations, he added.
For his part, Garcia said that when he was still the Cebu governor, his office did not benefit from the program, although about 50 other provinces availed themselves of the fertilizer funds. (GMD)
