Sandiganbayan Clears Bolante Of Plunder Case Over Multi-Million Fertilizer Fund Scam

Sandiganbayan dropped plunder case against Joc-Joc Bolante.

SANDIGANBAYAN – The plunder case over the P723-million fertilizer fund scam against ex-Department of Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante was dropped by Sandiganbayan Special 2nd Division.

The political arena is a vast field where a lot of issues are being tackled aside from the public responsibilities of the officials. Undeniably, a lot of public officials are facing cases over certain alleged misconduct.

There are even cases that were filed in the previous years but are still being processed and investigated even up to the present. It would really take time to take all the angles before coming up with a verdict.

Sandiganbayan
Former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn ‘Jocjoc’ Bolante / Photo lifted from Manila Mail DC

Way back in 2004, one Senator has accused the President during that time of buying votes. Former Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was accused before by Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson of vote-buying with the aid of the funds for fertilizer.

In 2011, a plunder case has been filed and former Department of Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante has been accused of getting money from the P723 million fertilizer funds. The alleged amount taken is P265.642 million.

Recently, a news report in ABS-CBN News stated that the Sandiganbayan Special 2nd Division has cleared the former agriculture undersecretary.

The decision of Sandiganbayan came after the prosecutors have failed to present proofs that will tie-up the former Agriculture undersecretary to plunder acts. The verdict has been promulgated on the 28th of November 2016.

Based on the news report, the Sandiganbayan ruling reads that Jose Barredo, the person admitted as prosecution witness and submitted a 20-page judicial affidavit, only stated ‘the modus operandi of the scam, the persons who were offered, or had received, and how the ‘SOP’ (Standard Operating Procedure) or commissions were distributed’.

Furthermore, it emphasized that none of the officials cited by Barredo was charged in the plunder case ‘as co-conspirators’ of the accused personalities.

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