By Rey E. Requejo

FORMER Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn ?Joc-Joc? Bolante can now do whatever he wants with the 32 bank accounts suspected to have been used to funnel the P728 million in fertilizer funds with the lapse of the freeze order on them by the Court of Appeals.

An official of the appellate court disclosed yesterday that Bolante?s lawyer, Antonio Zulueta, was securing a certification from the CA that the freeze order on his clients accounts expired last Dec. 20. It was not extended.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak, said the expiration of the freeze order would ?ipso facto? give Bolante the free hand on the accounts.

?Since there is no extension of the freeze order, Bolante cannot be prevented from withdrawing the funds,? the source said.

The four-month freeze order covered accounts and insurance policies identified by the Anti-Money Laundering Council.

These include accounts and policies at Banco de Oro Universal Bank, Citbank, N.A., East-West Bank, Maybank Phils. Inc, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., Philippine National Bank, Insular Life Assce. Company, 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 Corp. and Standard Chartered Bank.

The group also identified the other holders of these various accounts as Molugan Foundation, Alliance for the Conservation of the Environment of Pangasinan Inc., Sta. Lucia Education Association of Bulacan Inc., Livelihood Corp. (Livecor), Ariel C. Panganiban, spouses Samuel and Katherine Samuel Bombeo.

Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera said she is hoping that the banks won?t allow Bolante easy access into the accounts despite the expiration of the freeze order.

Devanadera said her office is considering other legal measures to preserve the accounts.

?I cannot actually divulge the legal steps we will be taking since anti-money laundering cases are supposed to be confidential,? he said.