A human rights lawyer said the government may no longer recover the money deposited in the bank accounts of Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante despite a court ruling freezing the accounts of the former agriculture undersecretary and others allegedly involved in the fertilizer fund scam.

Lawyer Harry Roque Jr. said it is possible that Bolante had already emptied his bank accounts two and a half years ago when he fled the country to evade the Senate investigation into the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.

“Human experience tells us that if you'll flee the Philippines, and that Bolante did, you'll bring all your ill-gotten wealth with you,” Roque told dzMM.

He also pointed out that in this age of technology it would have been easy for Bolante to transfer his money from one bank account to the next.

Secondly, Roque noted, it was possible that the big chunk of P728 million has already been spent for the 2004 presidential elections, referring to allegations that the funds were used to finance the campaign of President Arroyo.

Bolante was said to be the principal architect of the fertilizer fund scam.

“I'm not optimistic that we'll recover the money because in the first place, it may have been transferred to other accounts since he intended to go to America and second, the money was already distributed to different people during the 2004 elections,” he said.

Roque also questioned why it took the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) years after Bolante’s flight to the United States before it asked the Court of Appeals to freeze the bank accounts.

He said now that the appellate court's First Division has granted AMLC’s petition the public should know how much money was deposited in these accounts and if these could still be recovered.    

CA decision

The CA on Thursday issued a freeze order on 70 accounts under the name of Bolante and several other individuals for their alleged involvement in the scam.

In a 20-page decision, the CA's First Division granted AMLC’s petition after finding probable cause that the accounts could be linked to the the alleged scam.

The 20-day freeze order covers accounts in various banks and institutions such as in AIG Philam Savings Bank, Inc., Banco de Oro Universal Bank, Citibank, N.A., East-West Bank, Equitable PCI Bank, Maybank Phils. Inc., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Philippine National Bank, Philippine Savings Bank, Planters Development Bank, Philippine Business Bank, Union Bank, Insular Life Assce. Company, Pru-Life Insurance Corp. of UK, Manufacturers Life Ins. Co., Standard Insurance Co., BPI/MS Insurance Corp., Performance Foreign Exchange Corp., Bank of the Philippine Islands, Union Bank of the Philippines, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, and Standard Chartered Bank.

Aside from Bolante, the AMLC identified the other holders of these various accounts as Molugan Foundation, the Assembly of Gracious Samaritans Foundation, Inc., One Accord Christian Community Endeavor for Salavation & Success through Poverty Alleviation, Inc., Society's Multi-Purpose Foundation, Inc., Alliance for the Conservation of the Environment of Pangasinan, Inc., Sta. Lucia Education Association of Bulacan, Inc., Livelihood Corporation, Ariel C. Panganiban, Donnie Ray G. Panganiban, Jaypee G. Panganiban, spouses Samuel and Katherine Samuel Bombeo and Eduardo F. Suerez .

The appellate court directed the said banks and institutions "to desist from and not to allow any transaction, withdrawal, deposit, transfer, removal, conversion, other movement or concealment" of the accounts.

The CA has set a summary hearing of the case on July 8, 2008 to determine whether or not the freeze order should be modified, lifted or extended.