Press Release
March 1, 2009

Go after other 'wolf packs' in fertilizer fund scam,
Gordon tells Ombudsman

With the presence of "wolf packs" operating in the government established by the Senate blue ribbon panel, Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today urged the Ombudsman to go after the other "wolf packs" that operated in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.

Gordon, chairman of the Senate panel, said the committee's investigation exposed only the segment of the whole operation to rob the government, which was allegedly engineered by former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante through the Department of Agriculture's (DA) fertilizer project.

"We dread to see the unleashing of packs of wolves feasting upon already-scarce resources of government. In all probability, there were other wolf packs involved in the disposition of the remaining P535 million in fertilizer funds that have yet to be traced," he said.

"We do not discount that there might still be out there things that remain for us to ascertain," he added.

The blue ribbon panel, after gathering enough evidence, has concluded its investigation on the fertilizer fund scam and came out with a report.

The Senate investigation was able to clearly define the modus operandi employed in the said part, which involved only a portion of the whole fund in question, and identified the members of the "wolf pack" that run the particular operation.

As a result, the Senate panel recommended the filing of charges against former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, described as the "Alpha wolf" and the others who were established to have worked in the said segment.

Gordon also stressed that it is now the Ombudsman which should conduct further investigations into the fertilizer fund scam, which have been pending with them for 1,300 days, to identify and charge the other perpetrators of the scam.

"The Ombudsman has motu propio powers to conduct an investigation into wrongdoings of government officers. Had it exercised its powers more aggressively, the resolution of the fertilizer scam and other issues related to it could have been yesterday's news," he said.

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