Blue Ribbon Hearing to resume Monday
Foundations were used to launder money
Foundations were used to cover up for the well-entrenched corruption scheme in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, allegedly engineered by former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante,Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon said.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon panel, said the Senate probe into the fertilizer fund scam is now nearing its end with the scheme already being pieced together through the documentary and testimonial evidence presented by the witnesses..
"Sa palagay ko natatahi-tahi na natin. Nadikit-dikit na from the bank account all the way to Bolante. We can now trace the paper trail; foundations were used to launder money," he said.
"We are now nearing the end of the investigation. We only need the other names mentioned to surface but what we have will already suffice," he added.
During the 7th public hearing on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, businessman Jaime Paule's involvement in the fertilizer fund scam was established when Marilyn Araos testified she was ordered by Paule to open an account at the Land Bank-Elliptical Road Branch for Feshan Phils., the biggest supplier in the fertilizer project, and sign blank checks for the company.
She added that Paule threatened her that she would lose her job if she would refuse to comply with his orders. Araos is a "runner" for the said project for the local government units in Regions III and IV, where she gets one percent commission for every transaction.
Surprise witness Natalio Castillo Jr. disclosed how Paule approached him to finance the project and when he turned it down, he referred his friend Joselito Flordeliza for the use of his foundation, the National Organization for Agricultural Enhancement and Productivity, Inc.
Flordeliza, president of the foundation, also disclosed that the foundation would get three percent for every transaction that would be completed and that Paule recommended Marites Aytona to manage the project with the Department of Agriculture (DA) when Flordeliza said he was too busy to manage it.
Leonicia Llarena, owner of Dane Publishing, also testified that it was Paule who approached her to seek assistance in issuing checks for the project. Both Llarena and Paule and their respective families had been friends for some time.
Gordon said that the testimonies of the witnesses showed that a large chunk of the funds purportedly intended for the DA's Farm Input-Farm Implement (FIFI) project ended up in some individuals' pockets and that only a small part really went to the actual purchase of fertilizers.
Ombudsman derelict of duty
The Ombudsman is derelict in its duty of investigating and filing appropriate charges against those government officials implicated in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam said Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee probing the anomalous project, said that despite having more than a thousand days to charge officials implicated in the project, the Ombudsman has failed to do so.
"The case has been here in the Senate for more than 1,019 days and up to now the Ombudsman has not filed a single case. If the case is under litigation, the bank secrecy law can be pierced because this is a serious matter of dereliction of duty," he said.
If only the Ombudsman had filed a case against former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, Gordon explained that the government would have been able to look into his alleged 32 accounts before the freeze order on the accounts lapsed.
The accounts were frozen through the petition of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) but were thawed after the six-month effectivity period of the freeze order expired last Dec. 20.
During the hearing on the fertilizer fund scam last Tuesday, Bolante admitted he was able to withdraw money from the accounts after it was unfrozen.
Invoking his right under the Bank Secrecy Law, Bolante declined to disclose how much and from which accounts he withdrew the money. He also refused to issue a waiver allowing authorities to look into his questioned accounts for the sake of transparency.
"Unfortunately, there seems to be dereliction of duty on the part of the Ombudsman. The Senate has been investigating this (issue) for more than 1,019 days in two Congresses, pero wala pang pina-file sapagkat kung merong kaso, hindi makukuha ang perang yan," Gordon said.
The Senate blue ribbon committee's probe under Gordon has unearthed strong documentary and testimonial evidence on Bolante's direct participation in the implementation of the Department of Agriculture's farm input-farm implement project.
During the Nov. 25 hearing of the committee, all DA regional directors testified they received respective memoranda signed by Bolante, which clearly stated the project proponents, whether local government unit or congressional district, to whom allotments were transferred.
Furthermore, Director Roger Chio of DA Region 11, said it was Bolante who signed a purchase request for 2,000 pieces of foliar fertilizer at P1,500 each.
Dir. Ricardo Oblena of Region 7 testified that Bolante had asked him to replace a non-government organization, named by the Kalibo local government as recipient of the funds, with the NGO National Organization for Agricultural Enhancement and Productivity Inc.
Meanwhile, new witness businessman Natalio Castillo Jr., who appeared in the hearing last Tuesday, said that Jaime Paule offered him to take part in the project.
Quite skeptical of Paule's capability to obtain such a project, Castillo asked who his contact in the DA was. Paule told him it was Joc-Joc Bolante.
Senate asks DOJ to issue hold departure order vs Paule
The Senate blue ribbon committee has asked the Department of Justice to issue a hold departure order (HDO) against businessman Jaime Paule, one of the alleged conspirators of the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.
Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon, committee chairman, made the request for HDO in a formal letter he sent to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez aimed to prevent Paule from fleeing the country while he is still under investigation by the Senate.
"We have to request for a hold departure order because we have to make sure that Mr. Paule does not leave the country while he is still under investigation," he said.
Gordon said the committee is taking all necessary actions so as not to give the witnesses a chance to flee from the Senate's probe.
He noted that the Senate had been searching for Paule to testify before the hearings of the blue ribbon and agriculture committees of the 13th Congress, while the blue ribbon committee under his leadership also had a hard time looking for him since there are several other Jimmy Paules in the records of the National Bureau of Investigation
Gordon added that it was through the committee's arrest order that prompted Paule to finally surrender to the Senate last Dec. 23 and testify before the panel yesterday.
The senator explained that Paule has been evasive and testifying falsely during the course of last Tuesday's hearing as proven by the statements of almost all the other witnesses present in the inquiry.
The Senate committee is set to decide today whether to cite Paule in contempt and detain him, along with Marilyn Araos, who were both evasive in answering the panel's questions thrown at them.
"The members of the committee agreed that Paule has been very evasive. It is the same with Araos. So depending on the consensus of the committee members, Paule and Araos may be cited in contempt," Gordon said.
While Paule maintained that he does not know Araos and that he never worked with Marites Aytona for the Department of Agriculture's farm input-farm implement project, the two witnesses testified in contrast.
Araos, the sole signatory in the bank account of Feshan Philippines, said she was ordered by Paule to open a bank account for Feshan Philippines, the biggest supplier in the project, and sign blank checks for the company.
She added that Paule threatened her that she would lose her job if she would refuse to comply with his orders. Araos is a "runner" for the said project for local government units in Regions III and IV, where she gets one percent commission for every transaction.
For her part, Aytona said it was Paule who asked her to make project proposals and was the one giving out instructions on which foundations would be accredited for the project.
Meanwhile, Leonicia Llarena, owner of Dane Publishing, also testified that it was Paule who approached him to seek assistance in issuing checks for the project. Both Llarena and Paule and their respective families had been friends for some time.
Gordon said a case for false testimony could be filed against Paule.
"It is possible that a false testimony case may be filed against him (Paule). Wala siyang pinapakita kundi denial. Ang false testimony pag na-prove yan, makukulong siya," he said.
Gregorio's recantation proof of massive corruption
The recantation of Feshan Phils. President Julie Gregorio merely showed that a huge chunk of the funds purportedly intended for the Department of Agriculture's (DA's) Farm Input- Farm Implement (FIFI) project ended up in some individuals' pockets, Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon said today.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon panel, said that based on Gregorio's admission regarding the real cost of the fertilizers, only a small part of the fund really went to the actual purchase of fertilizers.
"Ms. Gregorio sold the fertilizers at P150 per bottle but some individuals passed it at P1,500 each. So this is enough proof that this fund was really stolen," he said at the 7th public hearing on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.
Gregorio, whose company was the largest supplier of fertilizer for P728-million fertilizer fund scam allegedly engineered by former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, recanted parts of her first testimony and apologized to the blue ribbon panel for her misleading statement.
She belied her earlier claim that the fertilizers cost P600 per bottle, admitting that they really only cost P150 each.
Gregorio also added that she found her earlier disclosure that the total amount deposited in Feshan's Land Bank Elliptical Road Branch account was only P102 million to be false as she recently discovered when she requested for copies of the bank statements of the account, that total deposits actually amounted to P152.8 million.
Gordon said Gregorio's recantation was clear.
"Ang recantation malinaw. Admission against interest practically yun dahil ang sinasabi niya nangyari ito dahil napilitan siya kasi gusto nyang ipagbili yung stock ng Feshan at nabigyan siya ng pagkakataon," he said.
Gordon noted that the Feshan president apparently did not get a huge profit from the project.
"She earned a very meager profit. It also appears that she was not the signatory in the Feshan account but Marilyn Aytona, the friend of both Paule (Jaime) and Aytona (Marites). They signed the checks and the money was released," he said..
"They also mentioned tax amnesty. It was clear that the tax amnesty was used to erase Feshan's tax obligation or else Feshan would also pay for it," Gordon added.
Anti-Money Laundering Council admonished anew
For failing to forewarn the Senate of the expiration of the freeze order on the 32 accounts of former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) was admonished anew by Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, said that since the freeze order on the 32 alleged accounts of Bolante had effectively lapsed last Dec. 20, the former undersecretary was able to withdraw funds from it.
"The AMLC told the bank accounts about the expiration of the freeze order, but why not the Senate which is doing an investigation on the said accounts? They should have informed the panel too," he said.
During the hearing, Bolante, the alleged architect of the P728-million fertilizer project, admitted that he already withdrew money from the accounts, although he refused to disclose how much and from which accounts he withdrew.
Bolante invoked the Bank Secrecy Law even as he refused to issue a waiver to allow authorities to look into his questioned accounts for the sake of transparency.
Gordon explained that had the AMLC told the Senate about it and had they filed a civil forfeiture case, the bank accounts would not have been unfrozen and Bolante would not be able to withdraw funds from it.
However, AMLC executive director Vicente Aquino said he did not feel it was his obligation or his civic duty to tell the panel about the impending expiration of the freeze order because no one asked him about it.
But Gordon said Aquino need not to be asked since it was part of AMLC's duty to inform the panel since they are doing an investigation on the bank accounts.
"You don't have to be asked," he told Aquino in dismay.
The senator earlier reprimanded the AMLC for not taking necessary actions to prevent the thaw of Bolante's bank accounts, which was unfrozen after the six-month effectivity of the Court of Appeals' freeze order lapsed last Dec. 20, 2008.
Updates from RichardGordon.blogspot.com
Foundations were used to cover up for the well-entrenched corruption scheme in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, allegedly engineered by former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante,Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon said.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon panel, said the Senate probe into the fertilizer fund scam is now nearing its end with the scheme already being pieced together through the documentary and testimonial evidence presented by the witnesses..
"Sa palagay ko natatahi-tahi na natin. Nadikit-dikit na from the bank account all the way to Bolante. We can now trace the paper trail; foundations were used to launder money," he said.
"We are now nearing the end of the investigation. We only need the other names mentioned to surface but what we have will already suffice," he added.
During the 7th public hearing on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam, businessman Jaime Paule's involvement in the fertilizer fund scam was established when Marilyn Araos testified she was ordered by Paule to open an account at the Land Bank-Elliptical Road Branch for Feshan Phils., the biggest supplier in the fertilizer project, and sign blank checks for the company.
She added that Paule threatened her that she would lose her job if she would refuse to comply with his orders. Araos is a "runner" for the said project for the local government units in Regions III and IV, where she gets one percent commission for every transaction.
Surprise witness Natalio Castillo Jr. disclosed how Paule approached him to finance the project and when he turned it down, he referred his friend Joselito Flordeliza for the use of his foundation, the National Organization for Agricultural Enhancement and Productivity, Inc.
Flordeliza, president of the foundation, also disclosed that the foundation would get three percent for every transaction that would be completed and that Paule recommended Marites Aytona to manage the project with the Department of Agriculture (DA) when Flordeliza said he was too busy to manage it.
Leonicia Llarena, owner of Dane Publishing, also testified that it was Paule who approached her to seek assistance in issuing checks for the project. Both Llarena and Paule and their respective families had been friends for some time.
Gordon said that the testimonies of the witnesses showed that a large chunk of the funds purportedly intended for the DA's Farm Input-Farm Implement (FIFI) project ended up in some individuals' pockets and that only a small part really went to the actual purchase of fertilizers.
Ombudsman derelict of duty
The Ombudsman is derelict in its duty of investigating and filing appropriate charges against those government officials implicated in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam said Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon today.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee probing the anomalous project, said that despite having more than a thousand days to charge officials implicated in the project, the Ombudsman has failed to do so.
"The case has been here in the Senate for more than 1,019 days and up to now the Ombudsman has not filed a single case. If the case is under litigation, the bank secrecy law can be pierced because this is a serious matter of dereliction of duty," he said.
If only the Ombudsman had filed a case against former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, Gordon explained that the government would have been able to look into his alleged 32 accounts before the freeze order on the accounts lapsed.
The accounts were frozen through the petition of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) but were thawed after the six-month effectivity period of the freeze order expired last Dec. 20.
During the hearing on the fertilizer fund scam last Tuesday, Bolante admitted he was able to withdraw money from the accounts after it was unfrozen.
Invoking his right under the Bank Secrecy Law, Bolante declined to disclose how much and from which accounts he withdrew the money. He also refused to issue a waiver allowing authorities to look into his questioned accounts for the sake of transparency.
"Unfortunately, there seems to be dereliction of duty on the part of the Ombudsman. The Senate has been investigating this (issue) for more than 1,019 days in two Congresses, pero wala pang pina-file sapagkat kung merong kaso, hindi makukuha ang perang yan," Gordon said.
The Senate blue ribbon committee's probe under Gordon has unearthed strong documentary and testimonial evidence on Bolante's direct participation in the implementation of the Department of Agriculture's farm input-farm implement project.
During the Nov. 25 hearing of the committee, all DA regional directors testified they received respective memoranda signed by Bolante, which clearly stated the project proponents, whether local government unit or congressional district, to whom allotments were transferred.
Furthermore, Director Roger Chio of DA Region 11, said it was Bolante who signed a purchase request for 2,000 pieces of foliar fertilizer at P1,500 each.
Dir. Ricardo Oblena of Region 7 testified that Bolante had asked him to replace a non-government organization, named by the Kalibo local government as recipient of the funds, with the NGO National Organization for Agricultural Enhancement and Productivity Inc.
Meanwhile, new witness businessman Natalio Castillo Jr., who appeared in the hearing last Tuesday, said that Jaime Paule offered him to take part in the project.
Quite skeptical of Paule's capability to obtain such a project, Castillo asked who his contact in the DA was. Paule told him it was Joc-Joc Bolante.
Senate asks DOJ to issue hold departure order vs Paule
The Senate blue ribbon committee has asked the Department of Justice to issue a hold departure order (HDO) against businessman Jaime Paule, one of the alleged conspirators of the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.
Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon, committee chairman, made the request for HDO in a formal letter he sent to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez aimed to prevent Paule from fleeing the country while he is still under investigation by the Senate.
"We have to request for a hold departure order because we have to make sure that Mr. Paule does not leave the country while he is still under investigation," he said.
Gordon said the committee is taking all necessary actions so as not to give the witnesses a chance to flee from the Senate's probe.
He noted that the Senate had been searching for Paule to testify before the hearings of the blue ribbon and agriculture committees of the 13th Congress, while the blue ribbon committee under his leadership also had a hard time looking for him since there are several other Jimmy Paules in the records of the National Bureau of Investigation
Gordon added that it was through the committee's arrest order that prompted Paule to finally surrender to the Senate last Dec. 23 and testify before the panel yesterday.
The senator explained that Paule has been evasive and testifying falsely during the course of last Tuesday's hearing as proven by the statements of almost all the other witnesses present in the inquiry.
The Senate committee is set to decide today whether to cite Paule in contempt and detain him, along with Marilyn Araos, who were both evasive in answering the panel's questions thrown at them.
"The members of the committee agreed that Paule has been very evasive. It is the same with Araos. So depending on the consensus of the committee members, Paule and Araos may be cited in contempt," Gordon said.
While Paule maintained that he does not know Araos and that he never worked with Marites Aytona for the Department of Agriculture's farm input-farm implement project, the two witnesses testified in contrast.
Araos, the sole signatory in the bank account of Feshan Philippines, said she was ordered by Paule to open a bank account for Feshan Philippines, the biggest supplier in the project, and sign blank checks for the company.
She added that Paule threatened her that she would lose her job if she would refuse to comply with his orders. Araos is a "runner" for the said project for local government units in Regions III and IV, where she gets one percent commission for every transaction.
For her part, Aytona said it was Paule who asked her to make project proposals and was the one giving out instructions on which foundations would be accredited for the project.
Meanwhile, Leonicia Llarena, owner of Dane Publishing, also testified that it was Paule who approached him to seek assistance in issuing checks for the project. Both Llarena and Paule and their respective families had been friends for some time.
Gordon said a case for false testimony could be filed against Paule.
"It is possible that a false testimony case may be filed against him (Paule). Wala siyang pinapakita kundi denial. Ang false testimony pag na-prove yan, makukulong siya," he said.
Gregorio's recantation proof of massive corruption
The recantation of Feshan Phils. President Julie Gregorio merely showed that a huge chunk of the funds purportedly intended for the Department of Agriculture's (DA's) Farm Input- Farm Implement (FIFI) project ended up in some individuals' pockets, Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon said today.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon panel, said that based on Gregorio's admission regarding the real cost of the fertilizers, only a small part of the fund really went to the actual purchase of fertilizers.
"Ms. Gregorio sold the fertilizers at P150 per bottle but some individuals passed it at P1,500 each. So this is enough proof that this fund was really stolen," he said at the 7th public hearing on the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.
Gregorio, whose company was the largest supplier of fertilizer for P728-million fertilizer fund scam allegedly engineered by former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, recanted parts of her first testimony and apologized to the blue ribbon panel for her misleading statement.
She belied her earlier claim that the fertilizers cost P600 per bottle, admitting that they really only cost P150 each.
Gregorio also added that she found her earlier disclosure that the total amount deposited in Feshan's Land Bank Elliptical Road Branch account was only P102 million to be false as she recently discovered when she requested for copies of the bank statements of the account, that total deposits actually amounted to P152.8 million.
Gordon said Gregorio's recantation was clear.
"Ang recantation malinaw. Admission against interest practically yun dahil ang sinasabi niya nangyari ito dahil napilitan siya kasi gusto nyang ipagbili yung stock ng Feshan at nabigyan siya ng pagkakataon," he said.
Gordon noted that the Feshan president apparently did not get a huge profit from the project.
"She earned a very meager profit. It also appears that she was not the signatory in the Feshan account but Marilyn Aytona, the friend of both Paule (Jaime) and Aytona (Marites). They signed the checks and the money was released," he said..
"They also mentioned tax amnesty. It was clear that the tax amnesty was used to erase Feshan's tax obligation or else Feshan would also pay for it," Gordon added.
Anti-Money Laundering Council admonished anew
For failing to forewarn the Senate of the expiration of the freeze order on the 32 accounts of former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) was admonished anew by Independent Senator Richard J. Gordon.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, said that since the freeze order on the 32 alleged accounts of Bolante had effectively lapsed last Dec. 20, the former undersecretary was able to withdraw funds from it.
"The AMLC told the bank accounts about the expiration of the freeze order, but why not the Senate which is doing an investigation on the said accounts? They should have informed the panel too," he said.
During the hearing, Bolante, the alleged architect of the P728-million fertilizer project, admitted that he already withdrew money from the accounts, although he refused to disclose how much and from which accounts he withdrew.
Bolante invoked the Bank Secrecy Law even as he refused to issue a waiver to allow authorities to look into his questioned accounts for the sake of transparency.
Gordon explained that had the AMLC told the Senate about it and had they filed a civil forfeiture case, the bank accounts would not have been unfrozen and Bolante would not be able to withdraw funds from it.
However, AMLC executive director Vicente Aquino said he did not feel it was his obligation or his civic duty to tell the panel about the impending expiration of the freeze order because no one asked him about it.
But Gordon said Aquino need not to be asked since it was part of AMLC's duty to inform the panel since they are doing an investigation on the bank accounts.
"You don't have to be asked," he told Aquino in dismay.
The senator earlier reprimanded the AMLC for not taking necessary actions to prevent the thaw of Bolante's bank accounts, which was unfrozen after the six-month effectivity of the Court of Appeals' freeze order lapsed last Dec. 20, 2008.
Updates from RichardGordon.blogspot.com
Labels: Blue Ribbon, fertilizer, scam, Sen. Richard Gordon
posted by OlongapoCity Zambales at
10:36 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home