Press Release
December 22, 2008

Paule to surrender to Senate - Gordon

Having been backed into a corner, Jaime "Jimmy" Paule, who is being linked to the P728-million fertilizer fund scam by several witnesses, is expected to surrender to the Senate blue ribbon panel tomorrow.

Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon, committee chair, disclosed that Paule, whose alleged involvement in the scam is attested to by almost all witnesses, will be at the Senate at 11 am tomorrow to surrender to the panel.

"In terms of Paule, he is being pointed to by almost all of our witnesses. Maybe he wants to clear his name now. Perhaps, he really found it hard to find a lawyer who will act as his counsel because the case is really difficult to handle," he said.

"Perhaps, he (Paule) decided to come out now because he had seen that the Senate blue ribbon panel is determined to locate the witnesses and he is afraid to spend Christmas in detention either here in the Senate or in the Pasay City Jail," he added.

Gordon earlier ordered the issuance of a warrant for Paule's arrest due to the repeated failure of the Senate's Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms to serve the subpoena for him.

The OSAA has reported that in their last attempt to serve the subpoena, Paule's daughter informed them that her father was out of town and that they only got wind of the Senate's efforts to locate her father through media reports.

Gordon also sought Paule's inclusion in the Bureau of Immigration's watchlist to ensure that the panel will be informed should he suddenly skip the country.

"I have also written a letter to the BI to include Paule in their watchlist so we will be informed should he suddenly leave the country. We will know his whereabouts," he said.

The panel has ordered the issuances of warrants of arrest for witnesses who have repeatedly evaded attending the Senate investigation into the fertilizer fund scam.

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