SEN. Mar Roxas yesterday asked the United
States government to deport Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante once US
courts rule with finality to deny his application for political
asylum.
In letter to US Ambassador Kristie Kenney,
Roxas said the gravity of the allegations against Bolante, a
former agriculture undersecretary, for his involvement in the
P728 million fertilizer fund scam in 2004 underlies the
importance of his deportation to face the bar of justice.
"He should be made accountable for his
alleged mismanagement and misuse of DA’s funds not only before
the Senate but also before the proper judicial, quasi-judicial
and administrative bodies," the letter said.
The Senate has tagged Bolante as the
mastermind in the diversion of funds for the purchase of
fertilizer to the campaign kitty of President Arroyo in 2004.
Roxas also said the Senate has issued an
arrest order for contempt on Bolante for repeatedly snubbing
hearings of the committee on agriculture and food which was then
chaired by Ramon Magsaysay Jr.
"Hindi ako payag na makalusot pa si Joc Joc
Bolante. Kailangang dito siya dalhin sa Pilipinas para harapin
niya ang mga paratang laban sa kanya kaugnay ng fertilizer
scam," he said.
The US Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit has
denied the petition for review of Bolante for his failure to
"meet his burden of proof on his asylum claim."
The US court said Bolante’s fear of
persecution was objectively unreasonable. It said Bolante has
not produced enough specifics or details about the fear of
persecution that he faces once he is deported.
Harry Roque, the lawyer who has been
monitoring Bolante’s case, has said that while Bolante is
entitled to appeal to the Supreme Court, "it is highly unlikely
that the highest court of the US will overturn the denial by the
Chicago Immigration Court, the Board of Immigration Appeals and
the US Court of Appeals."
Bolante has been detained at the Kenosha
County Detention Center in Wisconsin.
Bolante left at the height of the Senate’s
investigation on the fertilizer scam and was arrested and
detained in Los Angeles on July 7, 2006 after airport
authorities found his US visa had been revoked.
The visa was revoked after Bolante was tagged
by the Senate as the mastermind of the scam.
Roxas lamented that despite the vast evidence
and information gathered by the Senate, the Office of the
Ombudsman has yet to file a case against Bolante. "Bakit ba
parang bahag ang buntot ng Ombudsman sa pagsampa ng mga kaso
laban kay Bolante?" he asked.
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, in an
interview in Malacanang, denied that the Ombudsman is sleeping
on the fertilizer scam.
"Definitely no… wala pa sa level ko. Nasa mga
fact finding investigations and those who are conducting
preliminary investigation. Makikita ko lang na may ebidensya pag
nasa akin na for my signature," she said.
"The work of the Ombudsman is to administer justice. If there
is no evidence then you don’t file, you dismiss the case, but
when there evidence, file it by all means," Gutierrez said. –
JP Lopez and Jocelyn Montemayor
