All in place for arrest of Bolante - Senate exec

MANILA, Philippines – Everything is set for the arrest of former Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc" Bolante when he arrives in Manila Tuesday evening, Senate sergeant-at-arms and retired Maj. Gen. Jose Balajadia Jr said in a radio interview. Balajadia said that upon Bolante’s arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, the United States marshals will turn him over to the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Immigration for inspection, for fingerprinting, and for identity verification. Bolante will then be turned over to the Senate by virtue of an arrest order issued by Senate President Manuel Villar II on Monday. "Maghihintay kami where they will turn him [Bolante] over to us. Dadalhin namin siya sa Senado, sa holding area (We will wait for them where they will turn Bolante over to us. We will then bring him to a holding area in the Senate)," Balajadia said. The arrest order stemmed from the December 2005 arrest warrant issued against Bolante after he evaded Senate hearings on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam. Villar maintained that the 2005 arrest warrant remains valid. Bolante is reportedly scheduled to arrive 11 p.m. Tuesday aboard a Northwest Airlines flight. As of posting time, the Supreme Court has not yet issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Senate from arresting Bolante. The petition for the TRO came earlier from Bolante’s lawyer, Antonio Zulueta. Bolante is the alleged main architect of the fertilizer fund scam where funds allocated for the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani program were diverted to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s campaign kitty in 2004. - GMANews.TV