IGGY ARROYO COMES TO BRO MIKE'S RESCUE; DEBUNKS LIONAIR'S CLAIMS
MANILA, AUGUST 16, 2011 (TRIBUNE) The younger comes to the rescue of his elder.
Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, brother to former First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, yesterday issued a statement debunking the claims of Lionair's Archibald Po that his brother owned the helicopters that were sold to the Philippine National Police.
Iggy, in his statement, said the public should be made aware that Lourdes T. de Arroyo Inc. (LTA Inc.) of which he was its president from 2001 to 2010, was the lessee of five Robinson helicopters from Lionair, Inc., a company owned and controlled by Po, as evidenced by the lease agreement he made available to the public.
He stressed that LTA Inc. needed to lease helicopters at that time, saying that LTA Inc. had no need to own five helicopters. "If we had wanted to go into the helicopter charter business, we would have purchased the equipment directly and openly instead of entering into a convoluted transaction with Mr. Archibald Po who was not really known well by our company," he said.
He added that Big Mike was not part of LTA Inc, at the time stated by Po in his affidavit as the former First Gentleman had divested and sold his controlling shares as far back as March 15, 2001, and had since reacquired shares in LTA, Inc., only toward the end of 2010.
Former President Gloria Arroyo's brother in-law said he found it surprising that Po concealed the information that Lionair had executed a contract of lease with LTA for the five helicopters on March 16, 2004, since "this contract was prepared by Lionair and is a standard agreement drafted by its lawyers and notarized by them.
He pointed out that since Lionair is the lessor in a lease agreement with LTA, Inc., then obviously Lionair is the owner of the helicopters in question. "It is of no moment that Asian Spirit sold the same helicopters to Lionair, as claimed by Mr. Po, as they are affiliated companies and the alter egos of Mr. Po. Given these circum-stances, Mr. Po's testimony before the Senate should be disregarded and thrown out as a pack of lies.
Iggy also said that Po has been giving the government the runaround by using different companies owned and controlled by him to avoid taxes and duties, and by dragging Big Mike into "a scam that Lionair, Asian Spirit, its employees and accomplices may have perpetrated to the damage and prejudice of the government, in a clear effort to provide a cover and distraction for Mr. Po's own fraudulent acts," which he stressed caused LTA, the Arroyo family, and Big Mike irreparable harm and damage.
"The irony of it all is that having stomped and flogged my brother in public to the point of seeming helplessness, which has aggravated his medical condition, Mr. Po has asked for and has been given the benefits of "witness protection". It is my brother, our family, and the Filipino people that need to be protected from Mr. Po.
"It is my hope that Mr. Po and his handlers who are behind the demolition job against my brother desist from spreading more lies against him. Mr. Po has defrauded the government to further his own business and personal interests and now seeks refuge behind persons who are waging a campaign of retribution against my brother and his family.
"My brother's medical condition has been further aggravated by the illness and failed surgery of his wife and my sister-in-law, former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo," he said.
The stress that Mike Arroyo is suffering is life threatening, as even confirmed by Senate doctors, and Iggy also called for the Senate to conduct inquiries in a humane, considerate, and Filipino manner, but added that his brother cannot expect this.
It appears that Iggy also is in sick bay in London, down with a liver condition.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile also yesterday cautioned senators against pressing for the appearance of Mike Arroyo before the blue ribbon committee.
Based on experts' opinion that he had sought recently, Enrile was told that Arroyo is indeed facing a serious heart condition.
"If it's really against doctor's advice, senators should not put at risk an Arroyo's health condition in insisting on hearing his testimony over alleged involvement in the P105 million anomalous helicopter deal of the Philippine National Police (PNP)," the upper chamber chief said.
"I do not want anybody to die here in the Senate so I am cautioning my colleagues that if it becomes imperatively necessary for him to appear here, we have to heed the advice of the doctor. We cannot take the chance," Enrile told reporters in an interview.
But just as when the Senate leader issued the warning, another inquiry that could possibly implicate anew the former first gentleman is in the offing, that of the purported behest loan case extended extended to alleged Arroyo cronies by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank).
Sen. Panfilo Lacson has filed a resolution seeking the blue ribbon committee chaired by Sen. Teofisto "TG" Guingona and banks and financial institutions committee chaired by Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, to conduct a probe into the "alleged large scale transactions involving behest loans and or similar sweetheart deals done under a cloak of confidentiality during the previous administrations of government banks and financial institutions, particularly in the light of the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of DBP assistant legal counsel Benjamin Pinpin with the end in view of determining who the accountable public officials are, amending the charters of these government financial institutions for transparency and accountability, and for other purposes."
Enrile took note of the call of some sectors for the senators to go easy on the Arroyos at this point in time, even agreeing to allowing the former president to seek medical treatment abroad.
"I suppose we have to be more understanding. You cannot bring her (Rep. Arroyo) here. The stress is very difficult for her. You know, she cannot even move her head. It's so delicate that if she moves her head, it could snap and it could affect her neck," he said.
"If need be, she should be allowed (to seek medical treatment abroad). It is a matter of life and death," he said.
Lacson, in a separate interview with reporters, said they will "only listen to her doctors and not to her spokesperson."
The senator said that while his filed resolution No. 553 will try to find out the basis on the allegations that Pinpin was put under intense pressure by DBP board to testify against a supposed crony, the reason why he committed suicide supposedly, the meat of the investigation is focused on the behest loans amounting to P660 million to Philex Mining Co. as well as the Metro Rail Transit Corp. (MRT) with $180 million.
Despite the call of Enrile, however, Malacañang rejected appeals to slow down in its attacks against the former President who has been going in and out of the operating room due a damaged spine and has also advised her counsel Raul Lambino to stop playing doctor by issuing medical bulletins in behalf of his client.
In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda insisted that it will continue to press on with the ongoing investigations involving former President Arroyo despite her medical condition as he aired doubts if her situation is really that serious as projected by Lambino to the media.
"This is not to say that we are heartless. I think this is totally different from being heartless. We have laws that we are supposed to execute. There's investigation process going on. So we will investigate. But again at the same time, we wish the the former president well in her operation. We wish her to recuperate and to get well. I do not think that this statement of wishing her well and pursuing the investigation are inconsistent," Lacierda said.
Lacierda however pointed out that the Arroyos should stop Lambino from issuing medical bulletins because he is "only fanning the flames of skepticism (on Mrs. Arroyo's medical condition)."
"The more he says something about the medical condition of the former president, the more people will tend to disbelieve. That's the reason why he should refrain from making statements which he is not and expert on because it takes on a political nature, the statements that he makes takes on a political nature," he said.
The former president will remain in the Bureau of Immigration's watch list unless she makes a formal request for her to seek medical treatment out of the country.
Justice secretary Leila de Lima said there is no reason for her to lift the 60-day watch list order (WLO) on Arroyo, which was issued in light of the three plunder charges filed against the latter before the Department of Justice (DoJ).
The justice chief said a formal request would enable her to verify Arroyo's true health condition to dispel speculations that the former chief executive was merely faking her sickness.
De Lima earlier decided to put the hearing of the graft complaint on hold in deference to President Aquino's creation of the Truth Commission, which was tasked to look into the alleged anomalies that hounded the nine-year Arroyo administration.
"We are considering placing her under the watchlist order. I just suspended it when she was hospitalized for humanitarian consideration," she said in a media interview last Monday. With Angie M. Rosales, Virgilio Bugaoisan and Benjamin B. Pulta
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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