Bolante arrested in LA

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed yesterday the arrest of former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante upon his arrival at the Los Angeles International Airport on Friday.

DFA spokesman Gilberto Asuque said in a press briefing that the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles had sent a report saying Bolante was arrested after his visa was canceled by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Bolante, who was linked to the P3-billion fertilizer scam, arrived in the US on an Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea. It is unclear why his US visa was revoked.

"The INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) did not elaborate. They said it is visa-related. Details of the case will be discussed during the hearing. The US immigration has the right to cancel a person’s visa. It’s the decision of the immigration," Asuque explained.

Bolante is detained at the San Pedro Detention Center in Los Angeles.

The former DA official has an arrest warrant issued by the Senate for failure to face a Senate investigation in connection with the fertilizer fund scam. However, he could travel to the United States since the DFA has not canceled his passport.

Despite the arrest order in the Philippines, Asuque said the DFA could not revoke Bolante’s passport without a court order or conviction for a criminal offense.

The hearing for Bolante’s visa case was set yesterday. Consul General Willy Gaa said the Consulate has sent its legal officer, Noemi Diaz, to extend legal assistance to Bolante.

"The consulate will keep track of developments of Bolante’s case and will provide him assistance," Asuque added.

Malacañang, however, reportedly turned down Bolante’s request to help him post a bond of $100,000 for his temporary release, saying it could not grant the request because he is no longer a government official.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Palace "will not raise a finger" to assist Bolante in paying bonds or any other extraordinary help to avoid giving any impression that it was indeed the government that was coddling him.

"I don’t see under what arrangement we can help him. He is a private citizen," Ermita said. "And what right does he have to ask for financial assistance at this time?"

Ermita, however, said the government could help Bolante as an ordinary Filipino citizen and the foreign affairs officials in Los Angeles would follow the standard procedures in assisting Filipinos.

Bolante left the Philippines for the US last December after the legislature summoned him to a public hearing to explain allegations of corruption. He was eventually cited for contempt after missing five Senate hearings on the issue.

Mrs. Arroyo’s foes charged that Bolante used some P3 billion in fertilizer funds at the agriculture department’s disposal to reward politicians who helped campaign for Mrs. Arroyo in the hotly contested May 2004 presidential election.

Asuque said it was too early to say whether Manila would seek custody of Bolante. Senators, however, welcomed his arrest in the US and called for his extradition to the Philippines.

Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. called on the US government to ensure that Bolante’s basic rights are respected to keep him safe prior to his extradition.

"We understand that there are some groups who didn’t want him to come back to the Philippines and these groups will stop at nothing to see to it that he does not talk as a witness on the issues he is facing when he comes back," he explained.

Magsaysay, who is chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture that conducted the inquiry into the fertilizer scam, said that Bolante has a lot to answer for as former DA undersecretary and as the supposed mastermind behind the scam.

"I would like to say here that this is a fateful event wherein justice might be served and the Filipino people will be vindicated as to what really happened to the hundreds of millions of pesos of taxpayers’ money that went to the DA," he said.

Though he stressed that he is not aware of the circumstances behind Bolante’s arrest in the US, Magsaysay said it may have something to do with homeland security.

He pointed out that the fertilizer fund scam has become an international issue and that Bolante may have been held for being involved in money laundering activities.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. also called for the extradition of Bolante. He warned Gaa, who has jurisdiction over Los Angeles, to be careful in securing Bolante as some reports had indicated.

Pimentel cited a similar case during the martial law era when Primitivo Mijares, a former Cabinet member of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, fled to the US and published a book revealing the excesses of the Marcos administration.

Pimentel said a consul of the Philippine government was ordered by the Marcos administration to secure Mijares, who disappeared in the US and was widely believed to have been killed by agents of the Marcoses.

"It is not farfetched in my mind that the Arroyo administration is trying its level best to get Bolante out of his problem," he added, emphasizing that Bolante is a fugitive.

Pimentel said though that this is a good development, as it would give Bolante a chance to clarify who benefited from the fertilizer fund intended for farmers. — With Aurea Calica, Marvin Sy, AFP