No favors for ex-Agriculture chief from govt, Aquino says

(Update 2 — 6:56 p.m.) Former Agriculture Secretary Luis "Cito" Lorenzo Jr., the superior of alleged fertilizer fund scam architect Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante, will receive no favors from the government even though his brother Martin contributed P20 million to President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III's campaign. Aquino, who admitted to having briefly talked to Lorenzo at the birthday party of Boy Montelibano Saturday night, said his administration would not go soft on Lorenzo, who recently returned to the country after fleeing a Senate investigation on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam in 2006. "Will I go soft on him? No, I'll be asking him the most relevant questions given the fact that he was secretary at the time, to put closure to this particular issue," Aquino said at his first press conference in Malacanang after his June 30 inauguration. Bolante is accused of having masterminded the diversion of fertilizer funds intended for poor farmers to the campaign kitty of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004. Bolante has denied the charge, saying there was nothing irregular in the program. Promise to contributors Aquino also clarified that what he promised to his contributors is to "level the playing field" for everyone. Martin Lorenzo is chairman of Pancake House Inc., a publicly-listed company that runs a chain of restaurants under the same name. The company, which reportedly employs 750 workers, also runs Dencio’s, Teriyaki Boy, and Le Coeur de France. The total peso value of the company’s shares is P1.8 billion. The President said he was actually surprised to see Luis "Cito" Lorenzo at the party as he has not seen nor talked to the former Agriculture chief since the controversy broke out. "I did not have an occasion to talk to him extensively when I saw him but I did say 'I have a lot of questions for you,' then I left it that. Hindi naman siguro (I don't think it's) proper time and I'm not sure if I'm the proper authority to ask him all the relevant questions," Aquino said. State witness Turning Lorenzo into a state witness is a "possibility," said Aquino, adding he wanted Lorenzo to divulge everything he knows about the allegedly anomalous program even back when Lorenzo was abroad. "If memory serves me right, the releases from the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) were requested not by Cito Lorenzo but by Mr. Bolante so we would want to know his involvement," Aquino said. "I think it would be in his interests to tell what he does know and in that sense protect him. If he has damaging information on certain parties then the revelation of the same will serve as some sort of safeguard for his own safety. Keeping it in limbo, not putting it in public record, does not help his cause," he added. No favors from Aquino Earlier in the day, Aquino's spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Aquino made it clear during the campaign that his contributors will receive no favors from him. "Nung nagbigay ng pera na donation si Martin Lorenzo, maliwanag – hindi lang kay Martin Lorenzo kundi sa lahat ng nagbigay – na walang strings attached yung campaign donation nila," Lacierda told reporters in an interview in Manila. (When Martin Lorenzo gave his donation, he and all other contributors knew that there are no strings attached to their campaign donations.) Lacierda said the investigation of the P728-million fertilizer fund scam is under the jurisdiction of the still-to-be-formed Truth Commission to be headed by retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. "Kung sakaling imbestigahan na ang fertilizer fund scam ito ay sakop ng Truth Commission na isang independent body. Hindi ho makikialam ang executive diyan," he said. (If the fertilizer fund scam is tackled, it will be under the Truth Commission which is an independent body. The executive will not interfere.) On Tuesday, lawyer Harry Roque of the CenterLaw Philippines called on Lorenzo to disclose whatever knowledge he has on the fertilizer fund scam. "Mayroon siyang moral na obligasyon bilang dating kalihim, na isiwalat kung anong nalalaman niya," Roque told GMA Network's "24 Oras" news program. (He has a moral obligation as a former government official to help in the investigation by revealing what he knows about the scam.) The great escape Like Bolante, Lorenzo fled the country in 2005 to escape a Senate investigation on the fertilizer fund scam. Bolante was deported to the Philippines on Oct. 27, 2008. During the 13th Congress, Lorenzo was among those recommended by the Senate to face criminal charges in connection with the fertilizer fund scam. However, at the time, the Office of the Ombudsman did not act on the recommendations. On Feb. 23, 2009, the Senate recommended plunder charges to be filed against Bolante and other officials. Lorenzo was not one of them since never got to testify again after he left the country. The Office of the Ombudsman, the body that investigates wrongdoings by government officials, has yet to act on the Senate recommendation. - with inputs from Amita Legaspi/RSJ/LBG/KBK/RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV