The Return of Joc-Joc Bolante
The fertilizer fund controversy broke out in 2004, when Sen. Panfilo Lacson accused then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of using fertilizer funds to buy votes. The money came from the Department of Agriculture's Ginintuang Masaganang Ani program, and was allegedly misused through collusion between legislators and private suppliers and foundations. Sources put the amount at either P728 million or P723 million. Jocelyn "Joc-Joc" Bolante, then an agriculture undersecretary, was named as the alleged architect of the anomalous distribution of the funds.
In 2005, Bolante disappeared in the middle of the Senate investigation. On July 7, 2006, he was arrested in the United States when he tried to enter on an expired trader's visa. He then spent about two years fighting to stay there. A federal court in Wisconsin rejected his bail petition and later dismissed his habeas corpus petition for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Sen. Mar Roxas had earlier asked the US to deport him to Manila rather than Hong Kong, the port of origin.
In October 2008, US authorities reportedly ordered his deportation. Upon arrival in the Philippines, he was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, then rushed to St. Luke's Medical Center after suffering chest pains. The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon, issued a contempt order on December 3, 2008. It released him from Senate custody on December 11, after he assured Gordon he would attend the next hearing on December 17. He also appeared before the House agriculture committee, where he admitted distributing the funds without the permission of then-Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin.
The legal case moved slowly. In 2011, the Ombudsman pushed ahead with a plunder case before the Sandiganbayan against Bolante, former Agriculture Secretary Luis "Cito" Lorenzo and others, alleging that Bolante and supplier Jaime Paule had met and planned the scheme. In 2014, the Sandiganbayan found no probable cause to hold Lorenzo and Bolante for trial, but did not dismiss the case and asked the prosecution for more evidence. That same year, the Ombudsman dismissed the graft complaint against Arroyo for lack of evidence.
In 2016, the court allowed the Ombudsman to amend its charge sheet and to drop one accused, Jose Barredo Jr., so he could serve as a state witness. The amended case alleged that Bolante and seven co-accused accumulated P265.64 million in ill-gotten wealth. On November 28, 2016, the Sandiganbayan dismissed the plunder case. It described Bolante as the "central key player" in the scam, but said no material participation other than the release of the funds could be attributed to him. It also ruled that Barredo had not shown that Bolante pocketed P50 million or more, the threshold for plunder.
The Ombudsman asked the court to reconsider, and the Sandiganbayan affirmed its decision in 2017. On March 27, 2017, the Ombudsman filed a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court. Bolante was never issued a warrant of arrest in the case.