Bolante bail bid denied – ANC

US immigration officials denied the petition for the temporary release of former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn "Jocjoc" Bolante, the ABS-CBN North America News Bureau reported yesterday.

The report, broadcast by the ANC news channel, said that Bolante’s lawyers are now trying to bail out the former agriculture official by strengthening the petition for habeas corpus filed before the US district court in Wisconsin.

During the Sept. 20 hearing, the US district court declined to grant Bolante’s petition for habeas corpus. The court said it has no jurisdiction over his immigration case.

Reports earlier said Bolante’s petition only questioned the legality of the revocation of his US tourist visa and not the validity of his detention.

The court argued that Bolante was an arriving alien without a valid visa, which makes his detention legal.

Harry Roque, a University of the Philippines law professor monitoring the case, said that Bolante’s legal counsels were left with two options after the court decided to junk the petition for bail.

Roque said Bolante could choose to either be deported immediately to the Philippines or remain in detention.

He added that Bolante’s lawyers could face contempt for saying on record that the case might be used as a tradeoff with the Subic rape case in Manila.

Bolante was arrested on July 7 at the Los Angeles International Airport after arriving from Seoul, South Korea due to the canceled B1-B2 visa.

At the preliminary hearing on Aug. 21, Bolante rejected consular representation and requested a change of venue to Chicago where he is believed to have relatives.

Bolante was tagged as the mastermind of the P728-million fertilizer fund allegedly diverted to the campaign kitty of President Arroyo in 2004. The scandal is now pending investigation before the Senate food and agriculture committee.

Many believe that Bolante is seeking political asylum in the US but lawyers said he cannot use asylum to flee prosecution in the Philippines. — With ANC