So he can clear his name in fertilizer case
But Palace won’t initiate extradition proceedings — Ermita
By GENALYN D. KABILING
CLARK, Pampanga — Former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante better return home from the United States so he can clear his name from alleged involvement in election fraud for President Arroyo, Malacañang said yesterday.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, however, ruled out any plan to extradite Bolante from the US, saying he should come home on his own free will and shed light on the R728-million fertilizer scam as soon as his arrest in the United States is resolved.
"If we have to ferret out the truth about all these controversies, yes, he should come home and make a clean breast of things but we must always follow the legal procedure, the rule of law, and not mob rule where anyone shouts in the street to investigate an issue," Ermita said in an interview after the joint Cabinet-regional development council meeting held by President Arroyo at the Bahay na Puti in the Clark Special Economic Zone here.
Ermita said Malacañang will not initiate the extradition of Bolante, who remains a free man in the country despite being accused of dispensing funds for allegedly overpriced fertilizer to help Mrs. Arroyo win the May 2004 elections.
He said the Senate which conducted an inquiry into the fertilizer scam had earlier issued a warrant of arrest against Bolante. The Senate inquiry has been terminated and it has already submitted its report to the Office of the Ombudsman.
"The Ombudsman has not come up with any resolution as to what case can be leveled against Mr. Bolante. Ergo, there’s no reason for us or for any government agency to ask the US government to extradite him," Ermita said.
He said the Office of the Ombudsman is the proper agency to initiate any extradition proceedings against Bolante if it finds any basis for his guilt.
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Bolante has not sought the intervention of Malacañang to secure his freedom in the US.
Bunye, however, said Bolante will be given proper consular assistance available to all Filipino citizens after he was apprehended for a cancelled visa in the US.
"He never asked the Palace to help him out of his predicament," he said here.
Bunye said the primary obligation of the Philippine government is to provide legal protection to Bolante just like other citizens facing problems abroad.
Bolante is detained at the San Pedro Detention Center in California following his arrest on July 7 by the Immigration and Naturalization Service because of his cancelled B1B2 visa.
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