DOJ forms panel to handle Senate case vs Bolante

MANILA, Philippines – The Justice Department (DOJ) on Thursday formed a three-member panel to look into the “false testimony" charges filed by the Senate against former Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc" Bolante. Justice Sec. Raul Gonzalez said the panel will be composed of DOJ Assistant Secretary Geronimo Sy as chair, and State Prosecutor Emilie delos Santos and Assistant Chief State Prosecutor Miguel Gudio as members. Gonzalez, however, said the panel will only begin its probe on the “false testimony" complaint after the Senate Blue Ribbon committee wraps up its inquiry into the P728-million fertilizer fund scam in which Bolante is the alleged mastermind. Gonzalez said he does not want the DOJ to conduct a simultaneous probe with the Senate. The official added that the DOJ panel may be hard put in determining who among Bolante and the Agriculture department’s regional directors are telling the truth during Senate’s hearings on the fertilizer fund controversy. The Senate Blue Ribbon committee on Wednesday filed before the DOJ the complaint signed by 11 the committee’s members. The complaint stemmed from Bolante’s alleged evasive testimonies on the extent of his participation in the fertilizer fund mess. In his earlier testimonies, Bolante maintained that the program was above board, notwithstanding findings by the Commission on Audit and testimonies of several witnesses, that it was surrounded by myriads of irregularities. Bolante had likewise insisted that the distribution of funds under the farm inputs and farm implements program to Department of Agriculture's (DA) field offices was a regular yearly activity. But DA regional directors refuted this in their testimonies, saying this was not done in previous years and was no longer being done after 2004. Bolante also maintained owning only four bank accounts, but documents obtained by Senate showed that he had at least 23. He also claimed to have lost his passport in the melee that marred his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport last Oct. 28. But the Foreign Affairs Department contradicted this after it has issued a certification that his name did not appear in its lost and stolen passport database. - Sophia Dedace and Carlo Lorenzo, GMANews.TV