Press Release
November 25, 2008

Senate blue ribbon panel holds in abeyance contempt order vs Bolante

The Senate blue ribbon committee will defer until Friday its decision whether to cite former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante in contempt and detain him in the Senate premises.

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon, committee chairman, said majority of the committee members have decided to hold in abeyance the contempt order against Bolante in a caucus convened after today's Senate hearing on the controversial P728-million fertilizer fund scam.

"There is a motion manifested by Senator (Panfilo) Lacson to cite Mr. Bolante in contempt because of his (Bolante) evasiveness and what appears to some members of the committee as outright lying. We will have to deliberate first before making our final decision," he said.

Gordon, a lawyer by profession, said some senators present during the resumption of the hearing on the alleged P728-million fertilizer fund scam were frustrated with what they called as "grossly evasive" testimonies of Bolante.

He noted that in the 13th Congress' Committee Report no. 54, the Senate blue ribbon committee and the Senate committee on agriculture had recommended that an order of contempt against Bolante be enforced because of his continuous defiance of the Senate committees' invitations.

Gordon explained that the current motion to cite Bolante in contempt and confine him in the Senate premises will need at least nine votes from the 17-member committee to be carried out.

Aside from deliberating on the possible detention of Bolante in the Senate, Gordon had, at the start of the hearing, directed the National Bureau of Investigation to locate the whereabouts of Maritess Aytona, Bolante's alleged runner.

The newly-installed blue ribbon chairman also requested that the Philippine Embassy in Singapore, through Ambassador Minda Cruz, to obtain the deposition of Derek Glass, the Singaporean incorporator of Feshan Philippines that cornered the fertilizer contract.

Furthermore, Gordon demanded the Department of Agriculture (DA) to submit pertinent documents, notably on the purchase orders and letter of authority to release the funds for fertilizer purchases.

The committee would also subpoena phone companies to produce records of the alleged telephone conversations between Bolante and DA Regional Director Ricardo Oblene.

The committee will resume on Friday its investigation on the alleged fertilizer scam where, aside from Bolante and the regional directors involved, concerned officials of the Anti-Money Laundering Council are expected to appear to shed light on the former undersecretary's questionable accounts under investigation.

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