Lawmakers threaten to subpoena, arrest Bolante

MANILA, Philippines – Congressmen are threatening to subpoena and arrest former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante even if he is under Senate custody.

Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra, House agriculture committee chairman, said yesterday he and his colleagues would not hesitate to use their subpoena and arrest powers to compel Bolante to testify in their inquiry on the P728-million fertilizer scam.

He said he expects the controversial former agriculture official to show up in tomorrow’s second hearing of his committee on the controversy.

Bolante was a no-show in the committee’s first hearing last Tuesday.

In a letter to Mitra last Monday, Bolante expressed willingness to attend the inquiry but could not do so without the permission of the Senate because he is under its custody.

Later that day, he wrote Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. to seek such permission, but there was no word on what action Villar has taken on his request.

Also absent in last Tuesday’s hearing were Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and his undersecretary, Belinda Gonzales.

Mitra said Yap and Gonzales would be subject to the same subpoena and arrest powers of the House like Bolante if they continue to snub future hearings.

Bolante and Gonzales were among the key players in the distribution of fertilizer funds shortly before the May 2004 presidential election.

The opposition claims the funds were used to boost President Arroyo’s chances of victory over the late popular actor Fernando Poe Jr.

She beat Poe by about a million votes.

According to Bolante, it was Yap who should have known the irregularities in the use of the funds because the latter was then agriculture undersecretary for operations.

Yap denies Bolante’s claim.

Among those raring to confront Bolante tomorrow are congressmen he listed as fertilizer fund “proponents.” In all, 105 House members were in his list, which also included 52 governors, one vice governor and 23 town mayors.

Mitra said the hearing would give congressmen in the list a chance to confirm or deny whether their districts received their allocations.

“For those whose names were in the list but got nothing, this will be the perfect time to confront its alleged author. This face-off will bring out the truth and clear the air,” he said.

At the end of Thursday’s Senate Blue Ribbon committee inquiry on the fertilizer scam, Bolante asked Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, committee chairman, if he could attend tomorrow’s hearing of the Mitra panel.

Cayetano told him that there was no problem in his attending the House investigation but that the Senate wanted an assurance that congressmen won’t cite him in contempt and detain him.

That would prevent him from appearing in future hearings of the Blue Ribbon committee inquiry, he said.

Mitra promised to give Cayetano a call, but as of yesterday, he has not talked to his former House colleague. Cayetano and Villar were former congressmen.

For Speaker Prospero Nograles, it’s a matter of trust between the Senate and the House. He sent the following sarcastic text message to Villar and Cayetano over the weekend.

“You can please assure them, through The Philippine STAR, that they once came from the House, and that we won’t detain the guy and even try to prevent his appearance in future Senate hearings,” he said.

“We trusted them and didn’t even insist to hear Jocjoc first even if we could have. So now, they ought to trust us too. Right?” he said.

Meanwhile, a majority of Bulacan farmers denied receiving fertilizers, which according to local lawmakers were facilitated for distribution. – With Artemio Dumlao, Dino Balabo