The Trouble with Joc-joc

20 July 2006—Seven months after he fled the country on 11 December 2005, his whereabouts is finally known. The irony is he remains elusive. Former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante arrived from Seoul, Korea on 7 July 2006 at the Los Angeles International Airport. US Immigration authorities took him into custody for a cancelled visa. He has been detained for 11 days now. Details of his offense remain unclear.

The U. S. embassy in the Philippines has officially said it cannot comment on matters pertaining to law enforcement. The Department of Foreign Affairs remains mum on Bolante’s case, when it is a matter of their jurisdiction because it involves a Filipino national in a foreign land. The details known to the public is limited to the fact that his B1/B2 business visa was supposedly cancelled.

The Bolante family has requested privacy for the immigration hearings at San Pedro Detention Center in Los Angeles, even declining the presence of a Philippine embassy official. They purportedly did not seek aid from the Philippine consulate in Los Angeles.

Finding Bolante is a public concern. The Senate Agriculture and Blue Ribbon Committees repeatedly summoned him from October to December 2005 but he failed to appear before the investigating panel. He was cited in contempt on 13 December 2005 and issued an arrest order.

The situation is ripe for speculation as days go by. And it does not help that agencies supposed to be concerned have not lifted a finger, such as the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice. Mr. Bolante is a fugitive of local authorities and should be brought to the Philippines. The people deserve to hear his side on the fertilizer fund program which he helped design and implement.

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