KIKO TO JOCJOC: TELL ALL!

On the eve of former Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn "JocJoc" Bolante's scheduled appearance before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today challenged the alleged architect of the P728 million Fertilizer Scam to "redeem whatever's left of his pride by facing the Senate and telling all."

"If there's any lesson that JocJoc Bolante should've learned by now is that there is no let up on the part of the Senate to uncover the real story behind the Fertilizer Scam. He may have evaded the Senate inquiry for more than two years, but there's really no escaping the truth," Kiko said.

Bolante slipped out of the country on October 25, 2005. US Immigration officials in Los Angeles, California apprehended Bolante on July 7, 2006 for having a cancelled visa, and an immigration court in Chicago, Illinois denied his application for asylum and ordered his removal from the US on February 9, 2007. Bolante arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila last October 28, 2008 and has been confined at the Saint Luke's Medical Centre since then. He was cleared for discharge at the SLMC Monday but appealed to remain under hospital confinement as he presents himself at the Senate investigation.

"He cannot take the entire nation for a ride. A man who has nothing to hide will not choose to beg for asylum in the United States where he's in jail and condemned by the community. What is it that JocJoc Bolante knows that he'd rather be behind bars overseas? Whether he really is the true architect of the Fertilizer Scam or he was used for somebody else's advantage, Bolante has already exhausted the Filipino people's patience, and he needs to tell everyone what he knows," Kiko ended.