Former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante shows his bank records during the resumption of the Senate inquiry into the so-called P728-million fertilizer fund scam, the alleged diversion of government money to the 2004 campaign of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which he is accused of engineering. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/JESS YUSON
MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE 6) A key Senate witness into the alleged multimillion-peso fertilizer fund scam has failed to link former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante to the supposed anomaly.
Jose Barredo was called into the hearing by the blue ribbon committee to face Bolante over his alleged participation in the anomalous distribution of the P728 million fund.
In his testimony during the 13th Congress, Barredo claimed that 30 percent of the fertilizer fund went to project proponents or intended beneficiaries and only 70 percent went to the purchase of fertilizer.
He repeated his testimony during this Friday’s hearing but failed to establish his connection to Bolante.
Barredo said he did not know Bolante but claimed to know a certain Marites Aytona, also an alleged runner of the former agriculture secretary.
Asked by Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson if he had an idea if Bolante and Aytona knew each other, Barredo said, "Yung una kong testimonya, ang kakilala talaga diyan ni Marites Aytona ay si Jimmy Paule... yun po yung may direct konek sa Malacañang [In my first testimony, I said that Marites Aytona knows Jimmy Paule… it is he who has a direct connection with Malacañang]."
It was Aytona, Barredo said, who offered him the job to negotiate with the project proponents -- congressmen, governors and mayors.
He said he started negotiating with the proponents in Regions 3 and 6.
“We give 30 percent to the proponents, after that I don’t know anymore. It was only later that I found out about the exorbitant overpricing … The market price of liquefied organic fertilizer is P350 but in the PO [purchase order], it’s P1,500,” he said in Filipino.
A document read by Senator Manuel "Mar" Roxas II showed that Barredo was authorized by Feshan Philippines Inc. to collect the payments for the fertilizer.
Asked by Roxas if he was an employee of Feshan, Barredo answered in the negative. He said his only contact in the company was Aytona.
Aytona, citing health reasons, was unable to attend the hearing.
Barredo explained that he was the one who delivered and collected the payment for the fertilizer after a memorandum of agreement was signed between the regional directors and the proponents.
The payment, he said, came in two tranches -- 65 percent for the first downloading of the fertilizer while the remaining 35 percent would come next.
Barredo said he would deposit the payments to Aytona through the Land Bank of the Philippines branch in Elliptical Road in Quezon City.
Roxas then noted that Barredo only had contacts with Aytona.
“Dito po sa transaksyunang ito… mukhang kayong dalawa ni Tess Aytona ang nag-uusap [In this transaction, it looks like only you and Tess Aytona are talking],” said Roxas.
“Opo, kami lang pong dalawa [Yes, it’s only the two of us],” Barredo agreed.
Asked by Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the committee, to comment on Barredo’s testimony, Bolante said he had nothing to react on since the witness himself confirmed that they did not know each other.
"He [Barredo] confirmed the things I said -- that he did not know me. He has not talked to me," said Bolante.
Before Barredo testified, Bolante said he was planning to file a libel case against him.
At the end of the hearing, Bolante requested the committee to remove the Senate security personnel guarding him because he no longer needed them.
Gordon noted Bolante’s manifestation and said the Senate would act on the request when senators would meet in a caucus on Monday.
Earlier in the hearing, Ibarra Trinidad Poliquit, chief of staff of Bolante when he was agriculture undersecretary, has denied any involvement in the fertilizer fund scam.
Poliquit, now vice president for Physical Resources of the Government Insurance System, told the blue ribbon committee that he had no hand in changing any project proponents of the fund.
He said his only role as part of his job was to endorse the funding requests based on the initial list of project proponents.
Bolante admitted that he was the one who prepared the original list but reiterated that the proponents were chosen based on their political affiliations, contrary to allegations that the P728-million fund was used to buy the support of allies during the 2004 elections.
Answering queries by Senator Loren Legarda, Bolante said 23 or 24 of 181 project proponents chose not to avail the fund “for reasons only known to them.”
Meanwhile, Dennis Araullo, former DA executive director of Region IV-A, disclosed that he received an “advice of allotment” and a letter between March and April in 2004, signed by Poliquit and approved by Bolante, informing him of the money and its intended beneficiaries.
Araullo said he was surprised because they did not request for the fund.
“Wala ho kayong sinabi na nangangailangan kami ng ganitong uri ng [You did not tell them that you needed money for this kind of] project?” asked Senator Roxas.
“Wala po [None],” said Araullo.
“Dumating na lang…[It just arrived]? So parang mirakulo [So it’s like a miracle]?” Roxas asked.
And since they did not ask for the fund, Araullo said he considered it a “special project.”
“I consider that as a special project so nagtaka ho kami [we were perplexed],” he said.
Meanwhile, bank officials invoked the bank secrecy law in refusing to disclose any information regarding Bolante's accounts.
Only Catherine Buntua, branch manager of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. in Legaspi Village, Makati City confirmed that Bolante has two accounts in their branch.
But when asked by Senator Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada if the accounts were still active, Buntua then invoked the bank secrecy law.
Grace Lucero and Raul Arcilla, branch managers of the Bank of the Philippine Islands and Union Bank of the Philippines, respectively, also invoked the same law.
Estrada then directed his questions to Bolante, who confirmed having one account both in RCBC and Union Bank, and four in BPI.
Bolante insisted that not a single centavo of the P728-million fertilizer fund went to any of his accounts.
He even expressed confidence that in due time, the Court of Appeals and the AMLC would lift the freeze order on his five accounts, including one allegedly owned by his uncle.
At the start of the hearing, the committee ordered the issuance of a subpoena against Vicente Aquino, executive director of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, following his absence.
Aquino cited a prior engagement in Davao and the ongoing investigation of the council on Bolante's bank accounts as reasons for his non-attendance.
Aquino was invited to answer questions on Bolante’s accounts.
Bolante is under threat of detention either within the Senate or in Muntinlupa after he got the ire of some senators last Tuesday for his alleged “evasiveness.”
Lacson made the motion “until he [Bolante] seized from becoming evasive.” But the committee had to defer its decision for lack of quorum.
Gordon claimed that a resolution to cite Bolante in contempt had been signed by 10 senators.
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