Jocjoc loses another case in US

MANILA, Philippines – Former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante’s habeas corpus petition has been rejected by a US court, according to a lawyer.

Harry Roque, University of the Philippines professor, said habeas corpus is not the right petition for Bolante to fight his deportation.

“Jocjoc Bolante is obviously running scared as his deportation nears,” Roque said.

“This time, Jocjoc Bolante, the suspected plunderer, even had the temerity to cite one

of the Guantanamo cases as

basis for the federal court to acquire jurisdiction.”

Roque said Bolante, the alleged architect of the fertilizer fund scam, would have no other choice but to come home.

“He has appealed the case to the US Court of Appeals,” he said. “One can only speculate why he is so desperately trying to avoid the wheels of justice in the Philippines.”

Roque said the US District Court for the Eastern District in Milwaukee, Wisconsin dismissed the habeas corpus petition filed by Bolante on Aug. 15.

The court decision makes Bolante’s deportation more imminent, he added.

Roque said the court rejected the arguments of Bolante to contest his detention after he was arrested for trying to enter the US with a revoked visa.

Presiding Judge Charles Clevert Jr. said in a one-page ruling dated Sept. 3 that it did not have jurisdiction over the case and dismissed the petition outright, he added.

Roque said Bolante has been filing different petitions before the US courts in “desperate efforts” to delay his deportation.

“If he does it here in the Philippines, he will be liable for forum shopping,” he said.

Bolante’s petition for asylum had already been denied by the US Court of Appeals. Bolante failed to prove he would be politically persecuted if deported to the Philippines, the court said.