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Friday, November 14, 2008
Bolante clears Arroyo, drags Yap
MANILA -- Former Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante on Thursday cleared President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of any involvement in the fertilizer fund scam but drag Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap into the irregularity.
He testified that President Arroyo was never involved with the funds, which she is accused of dipping into to finance her 2004 election campaign.
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Bolante said the fertilizer fund was part of the regular budget and did not need President Arroyo’s approval to be disbursed.
Bolante told senators that former Agriculture secretary Luis Lorenzo made the request for the release of funds for farm inputs. It was Secretary Yap, who was then undersecretary for field operations, who implemented the project.
But Yap in a separate television interview hit Bolante for simply passing on the back on him. The Agriculture secretary also challenged Bolante to name the other undersecretary for field operations since there were four at that time.
Yap said he was ordered by Lorenzo at the time to go into a negotiated contract for the project considering the urgency of the fertilizers to the farmers.
But Yap said, he instead bid out the project despite its urgency.
“It’s easy to make allegations and murder the character of whoever you want to,” Yap said.
Bolante also cleared congressmen and governors in the fertilizer fund scam mess. “We released it to the local government units' chosen implementers,” Bolante added.
A total of 103 congressmen, 53 provincial governors and 23 mayors were identified as among those who availed of the funds.
91% liquidated
During the inquiry, Bolante said the P728-million fertilizer fund is 91 percent liquidated.
He however failed to show proof when asked by Senator Loren Legarda to provide them documents supporting his statement.
According to Bolante, he was only informed over the phone that the said fund was liquidated.
Earlier, Bolante apologized to the members of the Senate for not appearing in the scheduled hearings on the fund scam in 2005.
He however denied he snubbed the said hearings.
Bolante said he had already disclosed in writing the reason for his non-appearance, which was a trip abroad. He added that such trip was set prior to the scheduled October 6 Senate hearing in 2005.
"I would like to apologize for whatever inconveniences my non-appearance has caused... I assure you, it's not out of respect to the Senate as a whole," said Bolante.
The former agriculture official also admitted during Thursday's hearing that he has been receiving death threats.
He however refused to elaborate the matter, saying he fears for his life as well as that of his family.
"Have pity on my family and myself," Bolante told senators as he requested not to answer questions pertaining to the threats to his life.
The former agriculture official meanwhile caught the ire of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago after denying he knows the supplier of the fertilizers that is supposed to have been distributed to local government units.
An exasperated Santiago said she does not believe Bolante's claims that he is not connected to the Feshan Philippines, which is the lone supplier that the Department of Agriculture (DA) has tapped for the fertilizer program under the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) of the administration.
"What you meant by liquidated is this: Runner said they were told to buy fertilizer in 'liquid form' from Feshan supplier. We now reached a good point: What is your relation to Feshan suppliers? Why Feshan suppliers...are they the only ones where we can buy fertilizers? There is an address, it was visited but was found out to have not existed," Santiago said referring to the investigation conducted during the last Congress.
To which Bolante replied saying: "Just like you your honor, I don't even know that 'Feshan' exists. I don't know it."
But Santiago's temper flared up after Bolante made the statement, saying: "You gave away fertilizer... it is supposed to come from one supplier to be given to either farmers or government office? But you did not understand where the fertilizers come from?"
According to Bolante, he was not the one who implemented the program but merely "downloaded" the funds from the central office to the regional field units, adding that he was only tasked and authorized by then agriculture secretary Cito Lorenzo to withdraw the P728-million fund.
But Santiago said she found it incredulous that Lorenzo did not do it himself.
Santiago said Bolante was clearly lying under oath out of sheer necessity and is obviously "defending the indefensible."
"He should be cited for contempt and his lawyers as well for coaching him in that manner. I think that they already pushed the envelope so far. There is a very thin line between performing your function as a lawyer to defend your client with all your might and conniving with your client to tell an outright barefaced lie," Santiago said.
This pushed the senators to express inclination to invite to the next hearing all regional directors of the DA who were involved in the implementation of the P728 million fertilizer program.
Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas II said it is very obvious that Bolante is protecting someone, which is why he pointed his fingers to the regional directors. "He probably did not know that we will be calling the regional directors."
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, said though that Bolante remains under their custody and that he will be provided security after the hearing.
As of Thursday, there was no announcement yet for the schedule of the next hearing. (Sunnex/With JMR and AH)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (November 14, 2008 issue)
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