PIMENTEL URGES COLLEAGUES NOT TO BLOCK REOPENING PROBE ON FERTILIZER SCAM

Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today urged some of his colleagues not to block the reopening of the investigation on the fertilizer fund scam to enable the Senate to obtain the testimony of former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn "Joc Joc" Bolante, the central figure in the scandal.

Pimentel said it is unfortunate that some Senators have opposed the resumption of the probe now that Bolante is back in the country and placed under Senate custody after more than four years of hiding and after being deported by the United States.

He said the committee on agriculture in the l3th Congress, chaired by then Sen. Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., was forced to discontinue the inquiry and come up with an interim report because Bolante repeatedly defied the Senate's summons and later fled the country.

According to Pimentel, the best option is for the agriculture committee to pursue the probe since it has all the records and information on the fertilizer fund mess.

But since the new chairman is against the reinvestigation by his committee, Pimentel said the next logical step is to entrust the job to another committee, specifically the Blue Ribbon committee, chaired by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

"The Senate was snubbed by Bolante. Now that he is back, the Senate should assert its right to compel him to testify and speak up," Pimentel said.

"But just the same, it would be better if they should stop dissuading their fellow senators from reopening the investigation."

Pimentel said the submission of a report on the fertilizer fund by the Magsaysay committee does not in any way bar the Senate from conducting a new probe.

Pimentel also said there will be no legal obstacle in the blue ribbon committee's takeover of the fertilizer fund case.

"The Blue Ribbon committee is clothed with adequate powers. On its own, it can conduct an investigation without any referral (from the Senate plenary)," he said.

Pimentel also urged Senate President Manuel Villar to call the senators to a caucus this week to resolve once for all the issue of what committee will hear Bolante's testimony.

He suggested that a senatorial caucus will settle questions on the issuance of a warrant for the arrest of retired Police Director Eliseo de la Paz to get his testimony on the so-called euro general scandal.