Press Release
November 14, 2008

ROXAS: "KAPATID NG MAGNANAKAW ANG SINUNGALING"
NEXT FERT FUND HEARING TO DISPROVE JOC-JOC TESTIMONY

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas said the next Senate hearing on the fertilizer fund probe will serve to unmask the claims of former DA Usec. Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante that no higher authority was behind the controversial scam that allegedly funded the 2004 campaign of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

"Napatunayan sa hearing kahapon na kapatid ng magnanakaw ang sinungaling. Sa susunod na hearing ng Senado, kung saan tatawagin ang mga kawani ng DA, malalaman natin kung sino ba talaga ang nagsisinungaling at nagnakaw sa kaban ng bayan (This shows that the thief is related to the liar. In the next Senate hearings, where we will call DA employees, we will find out who really is lying and who stole from the people)," said Roxas, who had called for the reopening of the investigation into the fertilizer fund scam.

The Ilonggo senator stressed the need to put in record Bolante's testimony, but that the truthfulness of his claims can be seen in the documents gathered by the Senate and by the testimony of other people from the DA, to be invited for a hearing possibly next week.

"Ang ebidensya naman ay nakapaloob na sa Senate committee report noong 2006 pa. Kahapon, binigyan natin ng pagkakataon na masabi ni Joc-Joc ang kanyang panig. Sa susunod na mga hearing, doon natin mapapakita yung inconsistencies sa testimonya ni Joc-Joc. Malalaman natin ngayon kung sino nagsisinungaling, kasi hindi naman ngayon masasabi na 'puti ito' o 'itim iyon.' Iisa lang iyan (The evidence is there in the 2006 Senate committee report. Yesterday, we gave Joc-Joc the chance to air his side. In the next hearing, we will see the inconsistencies in Joc-Joc's testimony. We will find out who is lying, because one couldn't say that 'it's black' and the other 'it's white.' There is only one right answer)," he said.

Roxas said the fertilizer fund scam contributed to the increase in the price of rice, which reached as much as P38/kilo in the middle of the year, and is now down to P30/kilo, still higher than the P24/kilo price at the start of 2008.

"Ang pinakamahalaga rito ay hindi na mauulit ang pangyayaring ito. Yung sobrang pagmahal ng bigas sa bansa, mate-trace natin dito, kasi ganitong kahalagang pera, kung ginamit sa tama, ay halos 1 milyong bag ng fertilizer ang nabili nito (The important thing is for this not to happen again. The rise in the price of rice can be traced to this scam, because the money involved, if used right, could have bought around 1 million bags of fertilizer)," he said.

"Kung anim na bag ang ginamit bawat ektarya, ay 160,000 ektarya sana ang tinaniman ng palay, na makakadagdag sa kabuuang ani ng bansa. Noong panahong iyon, ay P700 per bag pa lang ang abono. Ngayon P2,000 na. Talagang laking perwisyo nitong fertilizer fund scam (If six bags are used per hectare, about 160,000 hectares could have been used to plant rice crops, which could have added to the country's total harvest. At that time, a bag of fertilizer cost only P700. Now it's P2,000. This fertilizer fund scam was a real nuisance)," he added.

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