Bolante is a losing proposition

Like a thief arriving in the dead of the night, former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante is expected to arrive close to midnight tonight on board Northwest Airlines flight 71. Bolante, who’s being tagged as the architect of the 756 million fertilizer fund scam, is expected to arrive at the NAIA. He’ll be turned over by US marshalls to waiting immigration officials, who will then turn him over to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). The NBI, in turn, will hand Bolante over to the Senate arresting team.

Though Bolante’s counsels appealed to the Supreme Court for a temporary restraining order on the implementation of the Senate’s arrest warrant, lawyers failed to get it. The Justices are on leave and no one acted upon the appeal. Bolante is expected to spend the night at the Senate holding office.

Many expect Bolante to do the right thing–exposed who really benefitted from the scam. Though the Senate Committee on Agriculture already concluded their probe on the controversy and has established introvertible proof of Bolante’s complicity on the scam, nonetheless, there’s still no closure on the issue.

One thing and one thing alone separates Bolante from greatness and that is fear. For Bolante, his situation is actually not a win-win but a loss-loss.

Bolante does not enjoy the luxury of time. For one, his supposed “protector” is on her last years in office. Like him, Gloria faces a very tough post-term scenario. Her political and non-political enemies have intimated their desire to pursue legal actions against her and her Cabinet officials involved in many of these scams. She might, probably, enter into compromise agreements with the new administration; yet, some sectors might want to continue pursuing legal actions against her and her family.

If she stays in power though, she faces very stiff opposition, even direct violence from democratic groups. If she stays here in the Philippines, she has a big chance of escaping prosecution, provided that she surrenders some “concessions”.

Now, if Bolante seeks succor from other officials, he may yet find himself in bigger trouble.

It’s logical for Bolante to think about securing himself and his family from further harm by just “letting it all out”. Unlike Jun Lozada who was actually forced to go to the other side, Bolante has no choice but go to the other side of the fence. If he fails to avail of this option, he might find himself deeper in trouble.