BY JP LOPEZ

THE Court of Appeals yesterday issued a 20-day freeze order on 70 bank accounts in 23 banks of former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc Joc" Bolante and several other individuals and entities believed to be involved in the P728 million fertilizer fund scam in 2004.

"The Court finds that petitioner AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council) was able to establish probable cause that an unlawful activity had been committed by the aforementioned individuals and entities and that the subject accounts are related to such an unlawful activity," the ruling said.

The freeze order covers AIG Philam Savings Bank Inc., Banco de Oro Universal Bank, Citibank N.A., East-West Bank, Equitable PCI Bank, Maybank Phils. Inc., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Philippine National Bank, Philippine Savings Bank, Planters Development Bank, Philippine Business Bank, Union Bank, Insular Life Assurance Company, Pru-Life Insurance Corp. of UK, Manufacturers Life Ins. Co., Standard Insurance Co., BPI/MS Insurance Corp., Performance Foreign Exchange Corp., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Union Bank of the Philippines, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, and Standard Chartered Bank.

Besides Bolante, the AMLC identified the other holders of these various accounts as Molugan Foundation, the Assembly of Gracious Samaritans Foundation Inc., One Accord Christian Community Endeavor for Salvation & Success through Poverty Alleviation Inc., Society’s Multi-Purpose Foundation Inc., Alliance for the Conservation of the Environment of Pangasinan Inc., Sta. Lucia Education Association of Bulacan Inc., Livelihood Corporation, Ariel C. Panganiban, Donnie Ray G. Panganiban, Jaypee G. Panganiban, Eduardo F. Suerez and spouses Samuel and Katherine Bombeo.

The CA ordered these banks and institutions "to desist from and not to allow any transaction, withdrawal, deposit, transfer, removal, conversion, other movement or concealment" of the accounts.

The CA directed the AMLC to report on the amounts of the monetary instruments, property or related web accounts as of the time they were frozen.

The AMLC was also directed to submit information as to the nature of the monetary instrument and related accounts pertaining to the monetary instrument or property subject of the freeze order.

The CA has set a summary hearing of the case on July 8 to determine whether or not the freeze order should be lifted, modified or extended.

Court records showed that based on the 12 suspicious transaction reports submitted by the Philippine National Bank (PNB), the AMLC issued on Sept. 18, 2006 a resolution authorizing the filing of a petition for the issuance of an order allowing inquiry into the accounts of Livelihood Corporation, Molugan Foundation, The Assembly of Gracious Samaritans Inc. (AGS), Samuel Bombeo, and Ariel Panganiban.

Of the suspicious transaction reports submitted by the PNB, Livelihood Corporation, of which Bolante was the acting chairman, showed the transfer in 2004 of huge sums of money to the accounts of Molugan on four separate occasions in the amount of P172.6 million and the AGS in the amount of P40 million.

Molugan then transferred P38 million to AGS on April 2004 with AGS returning the favor by transferring the same amount to Molugan on the same day.

The PNB said the transactions "have no underlying legal or trade obligation, purpose or economic justification."

Besides, the transactions were not commensurate with the business capacity of Molugan and AGS, since they were capitalized at only P50,000 each, the PNB said.

The bank also noted that Samuel Bombeo is a signatory in both foundations.

"It is unusual for the two foundations to have only one set of signatories to their accounts, since the huge amount involved in each transaction ranged from P20 million to P40 million per transaction," the PNB said.

The Makati City RTC granted AMLC’s petition, allowing it to examine the bank deposits or investments and related web accounts of the entities and individuals.

Pursuant to resolution, the AMLC sent out 1,696 letters to several institutions requiring them to submit reports of suspicious transactions, if any, involving the entities and individuals including all related web accounts.

Upon investigation, the Compliance and Investigation of the AMLC found that the accounts were part of the related accounts used in the fertilizer fund scam.

The CA held that the AMLC has sufficiently established probable cause to warrant the issuance of a freeze order.

MASTERMIND

Bolante was tagged as the mastermind in the illegal diversion of fertilizer funds to the campaign kitty of President Arroyo for the 2004 presidential polls.

He fled to the US in July 2006 to evade prosecution as the Senate was investigating the alleged fertilizer scam.

Bolante was arrested by airport authorities and detained in Los Angeles on July 7, 2006 after he was found to have a revoked US visa.

The visa was revoked after Bolante was tagged by the Senate as the mastermind of the scam. Bolante applied for political asylum saying there is a bounty for his capture due to his failure to comply with the subpoena of the Philippine Senate.

The Chicago Immigration Court and the Board of Immigration Appeals last June 25 junked his petition for political asylum.

Bolante has gone to the US Federal Court of Appeals.