Joc-Joc Bolante asks SC to stop filing of plunder charges

Former Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante asked the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday to prevent the Office of the Ombudsman from filing plunder charges with the Sandiganbayan for the P728-million fertilizer fund scam. Bolante asked the SC to strike down the Ombudsman's decision to indict him for the alleged diversion of P728 million in Department of Agriculture funds to the campaign kitty of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the 2004 May elections. Acting Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro was among the lead respondents in Bolante's 31-page petition accompanied by hundreds of pages of documentary evidence. Bolante asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) "enjoining respondents from the filing of criminal case" against him. In June, the Office of the Ombudsman junked the separate motions for reconsideration filed by Bolante and former Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo. The Ombudsman likewise junked motions for reconsideration filed by ex-Agriculture assistant secretary Ibarra Poliquit, former Rep. Nanette Castelo-Daza, former Marinduque Gov. Carmencita Reyes and former Catanduanes Rep. Verceles Jr. After the denial of their appeals, Casimiro ordered the immediate filing of plunder charges against the two former officials as well as nine others who allegedly "conspired" in the scam. Plunder charges were also recommended against Poliquit while cases for violation of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) were ordered against the three other officials. — RSJ/VVP, GMA News