Wednesday, November 26, 2008 Agri officials refute Bolante's claims
FORMER agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante maintained Tuesday that there was no irregularity in the distribution of the controversial P728 million fertilizer fund.
During the resumption of the Senate hearing on the issue, Bolante said: "There was no scam. The project itself was not a scam. There could be some irregularities, one or two, or three or four, but that does not make the whole project a scam."
However, some incumbent Department of Agriculture (DA) regional directors, who were among those invited to the probe, refuted Bolante's statements.
Bolante was accused of engineering the diversion of the P728 fertilizer fund to the 2004 campaign kitty of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Last week, he denied having directly implemented the farm inputs, farm implements program of DA under the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) rice program.
He said after "downloading" funds, he no longer had a hand in how the funds will be handed out and what fertilizers will be distributed.
But Roger Chio, DA regional director for Central Mindanao, contradicted this claim of Bolante.
Asked by Senator Francis Escudero if Bolante's testimony was true, Chio said: "That's not true your honor."
Chio explained that regional directors were only allowed to approve a project proposal of up to P1 million.
He then presented to the committee a photocopy of a purchase request dated March 30, 2004 for the P3 million foliar fertilizer signed by Bolante.
Chio also opposed Bolante's claim that the farm-implement, farm-input was a regular program of the department.
DA regional director for Eastern Visayas Leo Cañeda said Bolante's project was the first time in the department and described it further as "abnormal" and "extraordinary."
Another agriculture official revealed that two months after the delivery of 2,000 bottles of liquid fertilizer, Bolante called up and instructed him to change the intended beneficiary of the fertilizer fund in Kalibo, Aklan.
Ricardo Oblena, DA regional director for Central Visayas, said he wrote Kalibo Mayor Raymar Rebaldo to inform him that the fertilizer fund supposedly for his town had been diverted to National Organization for Agricultural Enhancement and Productivity Inc, a non-government organization (NGO). The letter was dated June 29, 2004.
Oblena's testimony came after Senator Panfilo Lacson, not satisfied with Bolante's answers, moved that the former undersecretary be held within the Senate premises "until such time that he ceases becoming evasive."
Senator Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada seconded the motion.
But Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Blue Ribbon committee looking into the controversy, deferred the voting on Lacson's motion in the absence of a quorum.
Only four senators were present when the motion was presented.
Earlier, Bolante appealed to the senators not to call him a liar unless they could back their allegation with evidence.
Lacson had warned him: "Say only the truth Mr. Bolante. You keep on telling lies, I'm warning you, just tell the truth Mr. Bolante!"
"For the sake of my children and granddaughters, don't call me a liar unless you can prove with evidence and document," Bolante replied.
To which Lacson shot back: "We're not calling you a liar. We're just telling you that you're not telling the truth."
Bolante is under the custody of the Senate but was allowed to go home after the hearing last week with the upper Chamber's security personnel keeping him under tight watch. (AH/Sunnex)
