MANILA, Philippines -- Reopening the investigation into the so-called P728-million fertilizer fund scam may delay deliberations for the 2009 national budget, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said Thursday.

The Senate is expected to resume hearings on the alleged diversion of fertilizer funds to the 2004 campaign kitty of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo now that the man accused of engineering the scheme, former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, is back in the country after being deported by the United States.

"I hope Mr. Bolante's presence will not turn the Senate into a circus. I am worried that the budget deliberation will be delayed if there is going to be a hearing," Zubiri said, noting that budget deliberations are scheduled up to next week.

He said Senate President Manuel Villar should immediately call an all-senators caucus to get the consensus of the lawmakers.

But Zubiri said he agrees with Senator Edgardo Angara that it is the Ombudsman that should investigate Bolante, not the Senate.

"What are we going to achieve here? We've had enough findings already," Zubiri said.

Zubiri said when he was still Bukidnon congressman he received a letter from the Department of Agriculture offering him P5 million in fertilizer funds.

He said he turned the offer down because what his district needed then was a bridge connecting two towns.

Zubiri said the bridge was constructed but he is not aware where the funding came from.