Missing link in fertilizer fund scam surrenders to Senate

The businessman who was tagged as the major the link between former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante and the foundation that facilitated the release of some P728-million worth of fertilizer in 2004 finally surrendered to the Senate Blue Ribbon committee yesterday.

Jaime “Jimmy” Paule, the alleged missing link in the multimillion-peso fertilizer fund scam, however, denied knowing Bolante. 

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee suspended the arrest order against Paule after he surrendered to the committee yesterday.

Paule was also the alleged bagman of Bolante, said to be the mastermind of the entire scam.

In an ambush interview, Paule refused to answer questions from the media but promised to tell what he knows at the next Senate public hearing on Jan. 20.

Paule also denied that he knows Bolante or that he had any connection with President Arroyo and First Gentleman Juan Miguel Arroyo.

Bolante has denied any involvement in the fertilizer fund scam.

Sen. Richard Gordon, Blue Ribbon committee chairman, said the Senate had found the right Jimmy Paule, even after the committee had a hard time locating him after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reported that there are seven persons named Jimmy Paule in their files.

“He is going to deny it. But you know it’s not going to hold water,” Gordon said, noting that there are so many witnesses who testified about Paule’s involvement in the scam.

In the recent hearings, Paule was identified by Leoncia Llarena who has admitted that she was approached by Paule to provide an initial funding of P12 million for the purchase of fertilizer from Feshan Philippines, which cornered some P105 million of the entire deal.

Maritess Aytona, another alleged runner of Bolante, also identified Paule as the person who recruited her as a consultant of one of the foundations tasked to implement the project.

Aytona surrendered to the Senate last week. She said she was a consultant of the foundation known as the Agricultural Enhancement and Productivity Inc.

The fertilizer fund was allegedly diverted to the campaign kitty of Mrs. Arroyo in the presidential campaign in 2004. Paule, who also hails from Mrs. Arroyo’s hometown of Lubao, Pampanga, said he knows alleged gambling operator Bong Pineda.

Pineda and his wife Lilia, who is the Lubao mayor, are known close friends of Mrs. Arroyo.

Paule even denied knowing Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, as earlier insinuated in some media reports.

Paule earlier met Gordon outside the Senate before proceeding to a close-door meeting at the Office of the Blue Ribbon committee.

Gordon said Paule is involved in supplying spare parts for Light Railway Transit trains.

Pressed further if he was a conduit for Malacañang officials, Paule replied in the negative, adding that it would have been a privilege if the report were true.

Paule’s lawyer Ferdinand Topacio said he has advised his client to answer all issues during the next Senate hearing because they are still examining the transcript of records of the past public hearings.

When asked what took him so long to come out of hiding, Topacio interceded by saying that it was his advice as counsel.

Arrest warrant pressured Paule

Gordon said Paule surrendered to the Senate panel apparently after being pressured by the arrest order issued by the Blue Ribbon committee.

The Senate decided to issue the arrest order after it slapped him with contempt charges for his failure to appear and testify before the committee’s hearings.

“There is a suspension of the arrest order, subject to the condition that he arrives on Jan. 20. I have no reason to doubt that (he will attend the hearing) because his lawyer has said so,” Gordon said.

Gordon reminded Paule that he is not yet off the hook because he still has to come back to the Senate and testify before the committee when it resumes its probe on Jan. 20 next year.

Paule was cited in contempt, ordered arrested and detained by the Blue Ribbon panel for his continuous failure to appear and testify in the committee’s hearings on Nov. 28, Dec. 10 and Dec. 17, despite public announcements.

Agriculture Undersecretary Belinda Gonzales recalled that Paule was one of those who met Bolante at the New World Hotel in Makati City in 2002, complaining about alleged “fixers” in the Department of Agriculture.

Paule was allegedly trying to recover the P2 million which he advanced as goodwill money for the fertilizer project of the agriculture department.

While he confirmed the meeting, Bolante could not recall if a certain Paule was present.

He also admitted that he knows Llarena because his daughter worked as a freelance writer for her. He also admitted meeting Aytona in some gatherings.

Senators believe that Paule was the common denominator among the witnesses who have testified at the Senate and he facilitated the negotiations in the fertilizer fund scam.