A man is presumed innocent until guilt is established beyond reasonable doubt. But because flight is usually seen as an indication of guilt, there are people who believe former agriculture secretary Luis “Cito” Lorenzo was involved in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam whose chief operator was allegedly his former undersecretary, Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante.
When the scandal over the fertilizer scam erupted, both Bolante and Lorenzo skipped town, avoiding a congressional investigation, with Bolante playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the Senate sergeant-at-arms. He faces accusations of directly supervising the distribution of farm support funds to politicians, including those whose turfs did not have a single farm, for the presidential campaign of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the 2004 general elections.
Bolante has returned to the country and has claimed that the fund releases were aboveboard. Lorenzo, who was previously reported to be cooling his heels in Washington, surfaced at a party recently attended by President Aquino and his campaign supporters, among whom is Lorenzo’s brother Martin. The administration has promised to provide security to Cito Lorenzo amid reports that the potential state witness has been receiving death threats.
Despite the threats, Lorenzo said in an interview that he was ready to talk about the fertilizer scam. That is welcome news to people who have been waiting for the whole truth to emerge about one of the two major scandals that raised questions about the legitimacy of Arroyo’s mandate in 2004.
If Lorenzo finally breaks his silence and confirms the story that has already been pieced together by various sectors, based on official documents on the fund disbursements, the case should lead to two things: the punishment of the guilty, and the implementation of measures to prevent the diversion of public funds. The scandal raised questions about the propriety of government officials utilizing public funds for personal or partisan purposes. If Lorenzo had a hand in this, he now has an opportunity to redeem himself, and at the same time prevent the further misuse of public funds. He should go ahead and tell his story.