(Video taken by Arbet Bernardo)After a gathering of bloggers, together with Blog@AWBHoldings.com, BrinkNotes, and Billycoy, we decided to check out the action at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The road leading to NAIA Terminal I was lined on either side with vehicles and there was traffic on the ramp going up to the terminal. So we went straight then made a U-Turn and proceeded away from the vicinity of the airport. At that time AM Radio was reporting that Joc-Joc Bolante had been brought out of the Northwest Orient Airlines flight he’d been on, in a wheelchair.You could hear the pandemonium at the airport and then, within a few minutes, the reporters breathlessly announced that he’d been placed in an ambulance and that ambulance was leaving, probably bound for St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City. By this time, we’d gone past NAIA Terminal III, around the rotunda, and were headed to Edsa; more or less at this point, we encountered the ambulance, escorted by motorcycle cops, a PNP car, and a horde of media vehicles, zooming down the opposite lane.We went on to Edsa, headed to Makati; the radio reported that the convoy had gone into Fort Bonifaco, then ended up on the Skyway, then turned onto Edsa. By this time we, too, were on Edsa, having gone through the tunnel, and we were in the vicinity of the Rockwell exit when we heard that Bolante’s convoy had just gone through the tunnel, too. I pulled over, turned on my hazard lights, and decided to intercept the convoy.
In a few minutes we saw the flashing lights of the ambulance and soon enough, a motorcycle cop heralded the arrival of the rest of the convoy. Then, a police car.
From that moment on, we became part of the convoy and, for a time, managed to keep apace with the ambulance itself.
Despite what seemed attempts by the police to shake off the media vehicles, we managed to keep up with the convoy as it zoomed down Edsa, at one point seemingly poised to go up the Greenhills flyover, then indicating it would enter Camp Aguinaldo or go down Santolan and then enter Camp Crame, and then trying to leave the media vehicles behind by squeezing through one of the Cubao lanes and then abruptly turning on to P. Tuazon and then ending up on E. Rodriguez, the street of St. Luke’s.
The YouTube video above, taken by Blog@AWBHoldings.com as I was driving, chronicles the last few minutes of the chase, and the removal of Bolante from the ambulance and into St. Luke’s, the President’s hospital of choice. He hopped out of the car and got a fine video of Bolante being brought out of the ambulance, all I managed, from the driver’s seat, was to take some snaps:
\The corpus delicti.
AM reporters said that as Bolante was wheeled out of the plane, he was clutching his chest, first with one hand, then the other, obviously demonstrating that he was experiencing some discomfort. What I found odd both from the reports and from seeing him brought out of the ambulance on a stretcher, is that the medics (if there were any on the ambulance) never even bothered to administer oxygen to Bolante, which is an elementary precaution taken in such situations when the patient may be experiencing heart problems.
As it turned out, the Manila International Airport Authority, together with the National Bureau of Investigation, were able to scramble an ambulance, an escort, and whisk Bolante away, with some pretty good chances along the way to either bring him to government facilities (the Philippine Air Force HQ, then various camps), or pull some other switcheroo if they’d managed to shake off the media vehicles. Even if that wasn’t there intention, the operation brought him to a private hospital where access to him could be controlled, and while Bolante’s being guarded by a security detail from the Senate sergeant-at-arms, he is under the authority of his doctors who can delay his being handed over to the Senate.
There is adequate time and opportunity for the Palace to be reassured he will toe the party line.
See Et Cetera Et Cetera for a parallel account of the car chase, as well as a sober appreciation of the dilemma presented by Bolante’s return.
(the rest of my Chasing Bolante pictures are on Flickr). See Bolante in Senate custody at hospital: Will answer charges in proper forum–statement.
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10 Feedbacks on "Chasing Bolante"
kidlat
jocjoc kumanta ka na kasi ayaw mo pang kumanta. masarap bang humimas ng rehas sa kulungan. ganyan ang napapala ng taong gahaman sa pera. ikanta mo na yung mga handler mo para pati sila makulong na din.
noel
Bolante has made a statement before arriving at the airport. He is saying something that counters the accussations hurled against him. Let’s wait for his statement when the time comes. In fairness to him, we have not heard a statement from him. It’s all one-sided. The media that covers him is also one-sided influencing many people to pre-judge before we hear whatever his statements. Now his critics are saying, he better tell the truth.. He must tell the truth. What really happen.
Let’s listen and judge afterwards. It’s unfortunate that most of the media and critics are prejudging before his statements. Their mind is already fix that if the official statement of BOLANTE is not what they expect, they will treat it as a lie. If he says what they expect, they will treat it as truth.
Let’s listen first. Be open-minded before deciding. For all we know, there’s always a possibility that somebody with a different agenda maybe manipulating our people..
mayang
Lumang style na yan…!! kumita na yan sa takilya..!!!! Sino kaya ang pakana sa script na yan,BOlante for FAmas Award! At syempre and BEst Director at Best Screenplay ay nasa MAlacanang..!
JC
maybe arthur yap, a fellow atenista who is supposedly a man-for-others, may want to shed some light to this. sometimes it shames me to be one.
Ronaldo F. Panaligan
Talamak na talaga ang kapal ng mukha ng gobyernong arroyo paano pa sila nkk2log, nkakakain sa dami ng burak nila tagos sa buto ang dumi. Grabe nkakahiya na talaga lalo na sa mga mga kasamahan naming ibang lahi na nagwowork sa ibang bansa. Grabe kayo mga hinayupak kayo ARROYO ang salot ng Pilipinas. Wla kang kapantay sa kakapalan ng mukha, Mahiya Kayo.
kwatug
Kapal naman talaga ng mukha ni bolante at ng arroyo administration, binigyan pa ng special treatment, halatang scripted sa mukha pa lang ni bolante na gustong magpa confined sa hospital pra makaiwas, walang silbi ang arrest warrant ng senate kc kontrolado pa rin ng arroyo ang puntahan ni bolante at mqa delay pra ma process ang TRO sa SC… KAPAL!!!! at ang SSAA nag mukhang tanga sa hospital pa na controlled ng arroyo nagpunta.
wonderwoman
Why so angry with Joc Jok Bolate? Is he not a close associate of the First Gentleman? If so, then blame all these mess to the First Couple.
Sayan si Joseph Estrada. Sisiw land ang pakinabang nya. Talagang bagito. Isipin mo, pinakinabangan lang niya ang ‘Jueteng’ samantalang ang First Couple, kaban ng bansa ang nilulostay! Billion na ngayon ang nakawan.
Tignan ninyo si Senate President Villar. Mayaman na, nagpakayaman parin ng 1.2 billion dahil sinalamangka ang rota ng C-5. Ang presyo ng per square meter sa kalapit na subdivision eh 4,000 pesos lang, samantalang si salamankerong senador, 40,000 pesos. Ayon sa mga taga Cavite, eh 12 subdivision ni kawatang senador ang dinaanan ng C-5. Galing ni Senador Villar. Ngayon, sana makarma ka Senador. Ikaw ang nagpatalsik ke Joseph Estrada, at dahil dito ngayon babaeng dambuhalang buaya ang pumalit sa kanya. Hindi lang billiong billion ang nawawala, nalulustay, at milagrong sinasalamanka, itong pumalit ay pumapatay pa. Ngayon lang nanyari na ang hukbong sandatahan ay ginagamit laban sa taong bayan. Pumapatay, dinudukot, nandadaya, at marami pang karumaldumal na ginagawa.
Noon, may Garci General sa ‘Arm Forces’, ngayon, me dela Paz naman sa ‘PNP’. Nawala na ang moralidad ng mga taga gobyerno. Pati sa ‘Department of Injustice’ si Raul Gonzales, iba narin ang takbo ng isip. SEDITION daw pag ng sabi ka ng katutuhanan. Dapat sa kanya sa Psychopatic mag upisina. Puro buang lang ang maniniwala sa kanya.
Balik toyo sa paksa natin. Si Senator Billard, pina impeach si Joseph dahil sa pandarambong. Eh ikaw ano ang ginawa mo sa C-5? Pati si Ex General at head ng DPWH, si Ebdane, nawala narin ang pagka ‘officer and a gentlemen’.
Mantakin mo, ng tinanong si Ex general kung nagbayad na sa mga may ari ng lupang dinaanan ng C-5 ay wala raw. Hindi pa raw binabayaran. Lumabas tuloy na sinongaling si Ex general ng ilabas ni Senador Jambi Madrigal ang listahan ng mga may ari ng lupa. Mantakin mo sinongaling pala si Ex general!
Teka, bakit ba si Senador Peter Allan Cayatano, nakisawsaw narin, kasama si Juan Enrile, si ‘Joker’, at si ‘Senador from Maguindanoa’ miguel Zubiri, na pagtakpan ang pandaraya ng kanilang Senate President?
Nakakasuka na ang kaliwat kanang pangdarambong, pagnanakaw, at lahat na, na ginagawa ng ating mga mataas na opisyal sa pamahalaan.
Hoy! Hindi ako komonista, NPA, radical o leftist. Galit lang ako sa mga magnanakaw at mga magpagbalatkayo sa gobeyrno. Mahirap na ang Pilipinas sa laki ng utang natin, nanakawan parin ninyo. Parang ninanakawan ninyo ang patay. Bakit? Dahil economic disaster na ang kategori natin. Buti pa ang Vietnam.
Sana mahaba pa ang buhay ni Joc Jok Bulate at parusahan siya ng habang buhay na pagpipintura ng ‘center line’ sa ‘Highway’ gamit ang toothbush.
Gloria Kawatan
Kawawa naman kayo! It doesn’t matter how mad you’re to these corrupt bogus administration of THE FAKE PRESIDENT OF CEBU GLORIA ARROYO, There is nothing you can do because she control the entire corrupt justice system.
If you’re waiting for JocJoc to tell the truth. Mamuti kayo! His not going to tell the truth because his protected by the crooks FAKE PRESIDENT OF CEBU.
Chulina
Nothing good well happen to JocJoc Bolante, Case because his one of Gloria/Mike Arroyo, cronies. His case it just going to be another corruption case that has been swept under the carpet. The truth is there for everyone to see, If you can’t see it then you’re blind. The only reason they’re not in jail because they’re protected by the corrupt supreme court justice.
Chulina
Wonderwoman: Gloria/Mike Arroyo, Don’t care if the entire world get mad at them for as long as they’re the one in power. Now, You know why they kick the duly elected President Joseph Estrada, Without any due process of the law; so that they’re the one can rob the government coffer. As we can see it. The only reason they are not in jail because she control the entire corrupt justice system. And there is nothing you can do about it. The only way to get rid of her is CIVIL WAR!
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