Bolante seems more at home in the House

MANILA, Philippines—He seemed at home in the less hostile conditions of the House of Representatives, staying calm and collected even in the face of harsh words from opposition lawmakers.

There was little animosity in the air when Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante walked surefooted into the cramped session room, where he exchanged knowing glances and hand signals with certain members of the House committee on agriculture, which is conducting the inquiry into the alleged fertilizer fund scam.

The purported architect of the P728-million fertilizer fund not only reiterated his testimony last week at the Senate where he absolved President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Department of Agriculture (DA) officials, and certain lawmakers, governors and mayors of wrongdoing; he also took advantage of his second public appearance since his deportation from the United States to bash the Senate, with some help from congressmen.

Bolante set the tone for the hearing in his opening statement: “I, my superiors, and even certain members of this august body, are victims of these lies and misinformation, and I feel that it is my duty to speak the truth and tell the world what is true and what is false.

“I believe that in an impartial forum such as this inquiry, I will be heard objectively.”

Saying that he was directing his statement to those outside the House, the former agriculture undersecretary continued: “To all those who have already prejudged me, it is my appeal that you hear me out with objectivity. Please do not impose upon me your interpretation of the truth that has been set in your minds. If I am to say only those things that you want to hear, then you are asking me to lie. Let the facts and pertinent documents be known and reasonably guide all of us to understand the truth.”

Poker face

At one point, he said he regretted joining government service in light of the purported insults and fabrications that had been hurled at him and his family.

“I regret so much I joined government service. I was happy in the private sector. God has his reasons, I leave it up to Him,” he said in response to a question from Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez.

But Bolante kept his cool even after being questioned by more than 20 lawmakers, some of whom raised their voices after failing to hear the answer they wanted.

Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco said he was pleased that the witness was feeling well and more relaxed.

Cuenco also noted Bolante’s skill at keeping a poker face: “Do you play poker? After watching you, I think you’ll make a very good poker player.”

Under questioning, Bolante also disclosed that he lost some 40-45 pounds in the two years that he was behind bars in the United States, where he vainly sought political asylum.

In the eye

Bolante looked every lawmaker in the eye when answering questions.

He shook hands with Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and even conferred with the latter at some point.

He said reports that he had accused Yap of responsibility for the fertilizer fund scam were disinformation: “All I said at the Senate hearing was that the fund was implemented through the DA field operations, and that the DA field operations was not reporting to me, as a matter of check and balance. I could not remember that Secretary Yap was involved in the DA field operations or in the implementation of the said P728-million fund.”

Six lawmakers who were directly or indirectly implicated as fund beneficiaries—Parañaque Rep. Eduardo Zialcita, Majority Leader Arthur Defensor, La Union Rep. Victor Ortega, Camarines Sur Rep. Felix Alfelor Jr., Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella, and Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay (who spoke in behalf of her father-in-law Gov. Vic Magsaysay)—aired their defense even before the agriculture committee chair, Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra, could open the hearing.

‘No scam’

“There is no fertilizer fund scam,” Bolante declared. “The fund at issue is not a fund solely for fertilizer, but rather, it is a fund for farm inputs and farm implements.”

He said the money had come from unreleased fund under the Rice and Corn and High Value Commercial Crops budget for the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) budget in 2003.

“It was from these unreleased funds that the farm inputs and farm implements funds were sourced. Thus, I did not seek the approval of Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for the release of the said funds,” he said.

Bolante said the names listed on the special allotment release order were not project beneficiaries or implementers but merely project proponents with whom the DA coordinated for its agriculture projects.

“The fund was released to the project implementers upon the advice of the project proponents. Not a single centavo was released to the congressmen, governors or mayors,” he said.

He maintained that the fund for farm inputs and farm implements was fully accounted for by the Commission on Audit (COA), with 91 percent already liquidated, and that DA records would show where the fund went, how it was used, and who used it, with the bulk of the money supposedly released after the May 2004 presidential election.

Mitra said that while the Senate was concerned about Bolante’s culpability, the House was more concerned about the accountability in the fund scam and the integrity of its members.

Puentevella thanked Bolante for giving fertilizer to his province.

“You could have cleared up a lot of things if you were allowed to defend yourself. I hope the Senate, in the future, will avoid mudslinging and innuendoes. All of us should have been given the right to reply,” he said.

‘Lowest kind of lying’

Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel said Bolante’s statement was the “lowest kind of lying,” and that it would be “indecent” for the people to believe his claim that there was no scam.

Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo told her to be civil to the witness and not to “follow what senators are doing to their witnesses.”

Baraquel moved that the committee suspend the hearing, saying it was an exercise in futility and that it could affect the impeachment proceeding, where the fund scam was one of the causes of action.

But her motion was overwhelmingly rejected.

Gabriela party-list Rep. Liza Masa asked Bolante how he could claim there was no scam when both the Senate and the COA said in their respective reports that they had uncovered illegal disbursements and diversions.

Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III also had harsh words for Bolante.

“What you have done might be legal, but it is not moral and ethical. You released the fund 30 days before the May election. People like Joc-Joc should not be allowed to do this again or be reincarnated in some form in future administrations,” Guingona said, criticizing the witness for continuously seeking “the refuge of ‘I don’t remember.’”

The lawmaker also said the fertilizer fund scam was a cautionary tale against the practice of Congress of allowing the reenactment of the budget and allowing lump sum allocations by the President.

He pointed out that because the 2004 budget was a reenacted budget, the administration had roughly P3.5 billion (P2.5 billion for the GMA rice, corn and high-value crop programs, plus the P978-million unreleased fund from the same program in the 2003 budget) at its disposal for use in the 2004 election.

Commissions

The hearing took an interesting turn when Capiz Rep. Antonio del Rosario confronted Bolante about an offer made by the scam’s alleged runners—Jose Barredo and Maritess Aytona—on how to divide the commissions in 2004.

Del Rosario, who was Roxas City mayor at that time, claimed that Barredo and Aytona had offered to give him 30 percent of the money for his campaign, with 30 percent going to Bolante and the remainder for the purchase of fertilizer.

He said he had balked at the offer because Barredo and Aytona insisted on delivering liquid fertilizer, which 50 farmers from his province eventually received.

In response, Bolante said Del Rosario was never in the list and that it was impossible that somebody from the DA would approach him with a fund allocation.

“I do not know them. Whoever dropped my name and approached you, that is something between you and them. Whatever your problem is, I’m out of that,” Bolante said, adding that he would take them to court if they continued to drop his name.

He also said the DA did not impose farm products on the proponents, and urged the lawmakers to broaden their perspective on farm inputs.

Del Rosario said liquid fertilizer was fit, not for rice, but for ornamental plants.

Bolante replied that Capiz had become a promising exporter of ornamental plants.

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