It seems there is justice afterall, it may not be here in the Philippines but somewhere else.
After several months of avoiding the senate to shed light on the Feltilizer Scam, Bolante was finally caught. Not the Philippine Immigration but the U.S. INS. Reports say that his visa was cancelled. The U.S. Homeland Security confirmed his arrest and detention. His bail for his temporary liberty is set at $100,00, a very steep amount for a visa related infraction. The U.S. Embassy in Manila has denied it has a hand in the arrest and refused to comment on the case as it is purely a legal matter.
Malacanang also discounted reports that Bolante contacted them to seek assistance. They however said that the Phil. Embassy in L.A. will afford him the same assistance it gives to other Filipinos. Bolante, despite an arrest warrant from the senate and a case filed in the Ombudsman was able to travel freely in and out of the country.
Now that Bolante has finally been caught, we can expect the senate to once again tackle the Fertilizer Scam. This however is far from over. We can trust that the administration will do everything to prevent the truth from coming out. We can expect the administration to employ a lot of backchannel negotiations to ensure Bolante's continued silence.
To give Bolante extraordinary assistance would strengthen GMA's critics belief that they had a hand in the Fertilizer Scam. To allow Bolante to stay in jail will help hide the truth. Expect Bolante to fight the extradition case the senate is contemplating on.
For now, we can all be content that Bolante's flight has come to a drastic and abrupt end. The irony is justice was served not by our agencies but another country's. Justice is not as "BLIND" in the U.S. as it is in the Philippines.
Maybe the DoJ and the Immigration can take a few lessons from the INS on how to apply true justice.
After several months of avoiding the senate to shed light on the Feltilizer Scam, Bolante was finally caught. Not the Philippine Immigration but the U.S. INS. Reports say that his visa was cancelled. The U.S. Homeland Security confirmed his arrest and detention. His bail for his temporary liberty is set at $100,00, a very steep amount for a visa related infraction. The U.S. Embassy in Manila has denied it has a hand in the arrest and refused to comment on the case as it is purely a legal matter.
Malacanang also discounted reports that Bolante contacted them to seek assistance. They however said that the Phil. Embassy in L.A. will afford him the same assistance it gives to other Filipinos. Bolante, despite an arrest warrant from the senate and a case filed in the Ombudsman was able to travel freely in and out of the country.
Now that Bolante has finally been caught, we can expect the senate to once again tackle the Fertilizer Scam. This however is far from over. We can trust that the administration will do everything to prevent the truth from coming out. We can expect the administration to employ a lot of backchannel negotiations to ensure Bolante's continued silence.
To give Bolante extraordinary assistance would strengthen GMA's critics belief that they had a hand in the Fertilizer Scam. To allow Bolante to stay in jail will help hide the truth. Expect Bolante to fight the extradition case the senate is contemplating on.
For now, we can all be content that Bolante's flight has come to a drastic and abrupt end. The irony is justice was served not by our agencies but another country's. Justice is not as "BLIND" in the U.S. as it is in the Philippines.
Maybe the DoJ and the Immigration can take a few lessons from the INS on how to apply true justice.
visits to date
