Magsaysay won’t testify in Bolante hearing

Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr. rejected yesterday an invitation of the American lawyers of Jocelyn "Jocjoc" Bolante that he testify at the former agriculture undersecretary’s immigration hearing in the United States.

Reacting to a letter dated Oct. 9 of lawyer Christian Schmidt of the law firm Azulay, Horn & Seiden, LLC, Magsaysay said there was no reason for him to testify in the case of Bolante since all of the relevant information had already been made available to the concerned parties.

"I’m not disposed to be a witness there because he (Bolante) is the witness that we want here," he said.

"If they want to know more about their client, there are official letters which were sent to the State Department, to the Attorney General of the United States Alberto Martinez and even to the US Embassy (in Manila).

"If they want more data, we can send it to them. Because if they ask me questions I’ll just refer to the report. I cannot add or detract from the official report of the Senate and the COA (Commission on Audit)."

In his letter to Schmidt, Magsaysay said that Bolante had evaded six public hearings at the Senate, which would have allowed him to explain his side.

"You must realize that his scheming ways did not prevent him from merging and using the United States’ agricultural assistance granted to the Philippines by virtue of Public Law 480 in the corrupted farmers fund," read the letter.

Magsaysay said that he believes the request of Bolante’s lawyers is merely a scheme to help their client in his petition for political asylum in the US.

"These are lawyers who want him to be given political asylum and they feel that if I testify there I might show that his life is in danger here," he said.

"But that is not the fact. All Filipinos know that we have done everything (including) giving him a public hearing to be heard but six times he refused us.

"The lawyers might feel that they can justify the judge giving him asylum by saying the Senate is after him, but the Senate itself is being isolated in its investigation. What are Senate investigations after all? These are looking at how the funds are managed and spent. That is one of our basic duties here."

Meanwhile, Magsaysay reiterated his call for the Office of the Ombudsman to act on the case of Bolante and the fertilizer fund scam.

"We want the (Office of the) Ombudsman to get off its butt and already complete the investigation," he said.

The Senate committee on agriculture and food chaired by Magsaysay has issued a warrant of arrest against Bolante because of his repeated refusal to appear before the hearings on the P728 million fertilizer fund scam.

The committee has recommended that Bolante be charged with violations of the Law on Plunder, Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Revised Penal Code. — Marvin Sy