Jocjoc cleared in Esperat P232-M fertilizer case

MANILA, Philippines – Former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante and 10 others avoided prosecution after the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed the graft case filed against them by a journalist over the alleged misuse of P232 million in fertilizer funds in 2003.

Deputy Prosecutor Elvira Chua said the complainants “failed to prove their allegations of overpricing,” which led to the dismissal of the complaint.

Also cleared were former agriculture secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr.; former National Food Authority chief (now Agriculture Secretary) Arthur Yap; Department of Agriculture officials Edmund Sana, Ibarra Poliquit, Belinda Gonzales, Eduardo Garcia and Ophelia Agawin; and businessmen Jesus Varela, Benjamin Tabios and Pepito Alvarez.

The charges arose from a complaint filed by journalist Marlene Esperat, whose murder has remained unsolved.

Esperat, former agriculture action officer of the resident Ombudsman, sued Bolante and the others for allegedly misusing P232 million in agriculture funds to buy overpriced fertilizer.

Meanwhile, Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus Jr. said the case against Bolante and other respondents linked to the P728-million fertilizer fund in 2004 is still being investigated by the anti-graft agency.

In the second case, Bolante and his co-respondents are accused of distributing the P728 million to President Arroyo’s allies during the 2004 elections.

During the 13th Congress, the Senate agriculture and food committee chaired by then senator Ramon MagsaysayJr. had recommended to the Office of the Ombudsman the filing of criminal charges against Bolante and other respondents.

Jocjoc remains under arrest—Villar

Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. said yesterday Bolante would remain under arrest until he testifies on the fertilizer fund scam investigation before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee.

“Placing him under arrest will end only after he appears (before the Senate),” he said.

“Normally, once he testifies and there are no more questions to be asked of him, he can already be released.

“He is only under arrest because he does not want to testify, it is no longer in effect after he testifies.”

Villar said the Blue Ribbon committee has agreed to reopen the investigation into the scam.

“I expect that there will be some arguments because there are senators who do not want to pursue the investigation while others believe that it must proceed so we will have a discussion,” he said.

“It is good that the opening of the Senate (session) is near, we can resolve all the problems we have now.”

Villar said the Senate has decided that Bolante in the meantime be allowed to stay at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.

“You know it is hard for us who are not doctors to talk about (Bolante’s condition) because even if he has no serious (health problem), we do not want to be blamed for whatever might happen to him,” he said.

“We also don’t want the public to think that once they are in Senate custody, they will not be taken care of and protected by the Senate.

“We also want to show that the Senate, when it invites or even arrests witnesses, they are given proper treatment. That is the message I want to convey to the public and to Mr. Bolante.”

Villar said the Senate building in Pasay City has no facilities to ensure that Bolante would be safe like in a hospital.

“He is also guarded by the Senate there… by our security (personnel) so I could not see any reason to hurry the transfer (of Bolante) and we still need to resolve when the investigation is and how to go about it,” he said.

Jocjoc needs one more test

Bolante’s physician said yesterday his patient might undergo one last test over the weekend.

However, St. Luke’s spokeswoman Marilen Lagniton could not confirm if Bolante would be discharged from the hospital soon.

In his latest medical bulletin, Bolante’s doctor Romeo Saavedra said his patient was found positive for obstructive sleep apnea, a condition wherein the oxygen level in the blood is decreased and the carbon dioxide level is increased during sleep.

Bolante is scheduled to undergo a “titration testing” for his CPAP (Positive Airway Pressure) treatment, his doctor said.

Saavedra said Bolante is slated to undergo further MRI testing as recommended by his radiologist to evaluate the different structures of his head.

“And if there are no significant findings, this may be the last of this series of tests,” he said.

The MRI testing might be done Friday night or today, Lagniton said.

Meanwhile, Saavedra said the blood pressure of Bolante is being “closely monitored” as it was observed to be “oftentimes fluctuating.”

Due to this, his patient’s anti-hypertensive medications are being adjusted accordingly, he added.

On the other hand, the third medical bulletin said the result of Bolante’s conventional coronary angiogram showed a “mild obstruction or narrowing of the calcified segments of his coronary arteries.”

However, Saavedra said this condition “does not necessitate any interventional revascularization (coronary bypass surgery or coronary angioplasty) at the present time.”

Bolante would continue to receive medial treatment for this condition, he added.

Saavedra said Bolante’s “occasional chest discomfort” could be attributed to his patient’s multiple stomach ulcers and inflammation or swelling of his esophagus and stomach, which is sometimes called “heartburn.” 

Bolante continues to receive treatment for his stomach ulcers, he added.

Saavedra said due to Bolante’s significant weight loss and his family’s history of cancer, the suspicious nodule in the adrenal gland seen in the CT scan needed further investigation.

Nevertheless, the endocrine workup and the PET scan done on Bolante failed to disclose the presence of any mass in the adrenals, he added.

All these findings are being reported to the Senate physician, Saavedra said.

‘Come out, tell the truth’

Doctors belonging to the Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) said yesterday Bolante could heal himself by coming out and telling the truth on the fertilizer fund scam.

“Truth-telling is therapeutic,” said Dr. Geneve Rivera, HEAD secretary general.

“Bolante’s current medical problems are mainly stress-related. (Bolante’s) conditions cannot be managed by drugs or medicine alone.

“An essential part of the therapeutic regimen is the removal of the stressor. For Mr. Bolante, the main stressor is his refusal to confront the issue of the fertilizer scam, which has hounded him even before he returned to the country.”

Rivera said none of Bolante’s current condition is life-threatening.

His confinement might aggravate rather than alleviate his condition since the battery of diagnostic procedures can, by themselves, be stressful, he added.

Rivera said the hospital setting, no matter how comfortable, can also cause tension “especially when hospitalization is unnecessary.”

“Mr. Bolante should help his own recovery before his condition becomes complicated, and he can begin this by telling the Filipino people what he knows, what really happened to the P728-million fertilizer funds, and who should be held accountable for this fiasco,” he said.

“Truth-telling will be therapeutic for Mr. Bolante. Both the Filipino people and Mr. Bolante himself will benefit and will be much relieved if he will face up to the issues he finds himself enmeshed in.”

Meanwhile, around 100 members of the Confederation for the Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) staged a protest near SLMC, briefly causing a traffic jam along E. Rodriguez Avenue in Quezon City. – With Aurea Calica, Katherine Adraneda