The Court of Appeals (CA) upheld its earlier decision to freeze several bank accounts owned by former Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante who was tagged as the architect of the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.
In a three-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Pampio Abarintos, the CA’s Former First Division denied the motion filed by the state-run Livelihood Corporation (Livecor), and affirmed its August 19, 2008 decision that extended the freeze order on 32 of 70 bank accounts owned by Bolante until December 20 to enable the Anti-Money Laundering Council to complete its investigation.
The CA cited the motion’s lack of merit the motion for reconsideration contending that there was no connection between the bank accounts of Bolante to the questioned transfer of funds of the corporation.
“To the mind of this Court the probable cause that there is a connection between the bank account of respondent Bolante to the questioned transfer of funds to Livecor and Bolante’s bank account are related to the bank accounts of Livecor or to the fertilizer fund, which was existing when this Court issued a freeze order on July 1, 2008 is still existing up to this date,” the CA ruled.
The appellate court further said the grounds relied by Livecor in its motion for reconsideration were a mere rehash of its arguments that were already passed upon and resolved by the CA last August 19, and no new issue was raised to warrant or justify to reconsider or reverse the questioned resolution.
Concurring with the ruling were CA Presiding Justice Conrado Vasquez Jr and Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin.
Bolante, believed to be the architect of the fund scam, left the country at the height of the Senate’s investigation into the fund scam but he was arrested and detained in Los Angeles on July 7, 2006 after airport authorities found him in possession of a revoked US visa.
His visa was revoked after he was tagged by the Senate as the mastermind of the scam. A petition for political asylum which he filed in the US has recently been denied by an immigration court for lack of merit.
In its August 19 decision, the CA granted the ex-parte petition of the AMLC to extend the freeze order, which lapsed last August 20. The extension in effect gave the AMLC fresh four months until December 20 to complete its investigation.
The CA removed from the coverage of the freeze order more than 30 other accounts in various banks and institutions after it was learned that these accounts have already been “cancelled, written off, closed or expired.”
The extended freeze order now covers accounts and insurance policies at Banco de Oro Universal Bank, Citbank, N.A., East-West Bank, Maybank Phils. Inc, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., Philippine National Bank, and Insular Life Assurance Company.
Also: Pru Life Insurance Corp. of UK, Manufacturers Life Ins. Co., BPI/MS Insurance Corp., Performance Foreign Exchange Corp., Prudential Bank, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Union Bank of the Philippines, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank.
The CA said it found no compelling reason to lift or modify the subject freeze order, as “those accounts the funds and sources of which originated from and/or are materially linked to the monetary instruments or properties subject of the freeze orders.
The AMLC had asked CA to extend the freeze order to allow it to conduct and conclude an exhaustive and comprehensive financial investigation of the said accounts to determine the extent of criminal activity of the persons involved without possible dissipation of funds in said accounts.
A 20-day freeze order was first issued by the appeals court last July 1 on 70 accounts under the name of Bolante and several other individuals and entities believed to be involved in the fertilizer scam after finding probable cause that unlawful activities have been committed by the respondents to funnel the funds intended for farmers.
Aside from Bolante, the AMLC identified the other holders of these various accounts as Livecor, Molugan Foundation, Alliance for the Conservation of the Environment of Pangasinan, Inc., Sta. Lucia Education Association of Bulacan, Inc., Ariel C. Panganiban, spouses Samuel and Katherine Samuel Bombeo.
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/129193/CA-upholds-decision-to-freeze-Bolantes-bank-accounts
