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Blue Ribbon summons bank officials on Bolante accounts

by ARIES RUFO, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 11/25/2008 1:00 PM

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The Senate Blue Ribbon committee will summon officers of three banks to shed light on the financial transactions of former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante.

At the resumption of the Senate hearing on the fertilizer fund on Tuesday, Blue Ribbon committee chair Richard Gordon sustained the motion of Senator Jinggoy Estrada to call on the officers of the Legaspi (Makati) branches of Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI), Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), and Union Bank branch in Roxas Blvd. where Bolante admitted maintaining active accounts.

Bolante said he maintained 23 bank accounts but said most of these were opened before he joined government n 2001, a few days after President Arroyo took power from deposed President Joseph Estrada.

He added that most of these accounts have been closed.

Also summoned is Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) chair Vicente Aquino.,

The AMLC earlier managed to freeze, through a petition before the Court of Appeals, 70 accounts listed under Bolante’s name and other persons and entities supposedly linked to the P728-million fertilizer fund.

Twenty-three of the frozen accounts were identified under Bolante’s name.

Senators also grilled Bolante on the bank activity of the Livelihood Corp., one of the foundations identified as having benefited from the fertilizer fund, where an entry of P178 million was monitored in its account on April 2004.

Bolante denied he was chair of the Livelihood Corp, adding he was only a member of the Board.

But Lacson pointed to the Senate committee report under then former Senator Ramon Magsaysay, which established that Bolante had acted as chair of the foundation.