Tuesday, November 04, 2008 Roque confident Court will disallow habeas corpus
CIVIL society lawyer Harry Roque said Monday afternoon he is confident the Court of Appeals (CA) will junk the petition for writ of habeas corpus filed by the camp of former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante.
Roque said the petition has no legal basis as the arrest order against Bolante issued by the Senate during the 13th Congress is still valid as the Upper House is a "continuing body."
A professor at the state-run University of the Philippines (UP) Law Center, Roque argued against the asylum bid of Bolante in the United States where he was deported last week after two years in detention.
At the same time, he accused Bolante of "forum-shopping" noting the latter's petition before the appellate court is similar to the petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) earlier filed before the Supreme Court (SC).
"It is clear that Bolante is engaging in unabashed forum-shopping, considering that he has previously filed an action before the Supreme Court asking for essentially the same remedy. His continued evasion of arrest, skillfully planned by feigning illness, is an integral part of his malicious machination, with the objective of staying away from any investigation for as long as it takes," Roque said.
"In fact, he has a lot to answer for in the fertilizer scam. Mr. Bolante still has to explain to the public why the original whistleblower in the fertilizer scam, Marlene Esperat, a journalist, was murdered in front of her children in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat on March 24, 2005," he added.
He likewise claimed that the petition only shows that Bolante has no intention of answering questions regarding his role in the P728-million "fertilizer scam", whose funds were allegedly diverted to the campaign kitty of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her party in the 2010 presidential election.
"The petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus, which was filed today (Monday) on behalf of Mr. Jocelyn "Joc-Joc Bolante" by a son of his, is obvious proof that he does not plan on answering any of the public's questions about the rotten multi-million peso fertilizer scam at the Department of Agriculture (DA) where he was once a well-placed official fixture," Roque said.
He said Bolante should face the Senate immediately as his executive check-up at the St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC) in Quezon City should have long been over.
"Mr. Bolante's continued stay at the St. Luke's Medical Center is an abuse of the humanitarian gesture extended to him by the Senate. St. Luke's Medical Center has already said Bolante does not have any serious illness, which means that his health will not impede his ability to appear in any investigation by the Senate or other office. Now we are being told that he needs more medical tests to ensure that his life is not in any immediate danger," an apparently dismayed Roque said.
"Indeed, Mr. Bolante -- and in this, he may be aided by willing doctors -- is taking the public for the gullible and the naïve lot that they are not," he added.
At the same time, Roque reiterated his appeal for the Senate to immediately act on the issue and resumes its probe on the fertilizer fund mess.
"His prolonged stay in the hospital in what -- it is clear to many -- is nothing but a contumacious display of pretended illness obstructing the cause of justice he has evaded for so long. We expect the Senate leadership to know better than playing Mr. Bolante's own game. We expect the senators of the realm to cut Bolante's crap and forthwith subject him to a legislative scrutiny they owe to the public," Roque stressed.
Earlier during the day, Bolante's son Owen filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus before the Court of Appeals to compel the Senate to release the former Agriculture official from its custody.
Bolante, the alleged architect of the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, has been staying at the St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City since his return to the country last Tuesday. (AH/Sunnex)
