Senator mulls placing Arroyo’s husband in immigration watchlist

By Jill Beltran and Jonathan de Santos
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
MANILA — Senate Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito wants former First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo placed in the immigration watchlist to make sure that he attends the Senate hearings on the anomalous purchase of second-hand police choppers in 2009.
Witnesses testifying before the Senate blue ribbon committee inquiry into the alleged overpriced and second-hand helicopters on Tuesday said Arroyo pushed the sale of two of his helicopters as brand new to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ricky Carandang said Estrada’s suggestion was a “good idea” but said he will leave the matter to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the agency that oversees the Bureau of Immigration.
At the Senate hearing Tuesday, LionAir Inc. president Archibald Po said that he facilitated the purchase of five Robinson R44 Raven I helicopters for Arroyo in 2003.
In a meeting at Arroyo’s office at LTA building in Makati City, Po said the then First Gentleman inquired about chartering helicopters from him.
“I told him there were no longer any helicopters available as they had all been loaned to Fernando Poe Jr., who was running for President against his wife, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” Po said in his affidavit.
“I suggested to FG that the best thing for him was to buy his own helicopters. I offered to him the Robinson R44 Raven 1 helicopters, five units of which would be the price for just one European helicopter. FG then told me to go ahead, buy him [five] Robinson helicopters,” he said.
Po said that he was able to convince Mr. Arroyo to purchase the five Robinson helicopters at agreed initial payment of US$95,000 each. LionAir is the exclusive dealer of Robinson Helicopter Company in the Philippines.
According to Po, the First Gentleman had even suggested to him to course through the importation of the helicopters to Po’s another company, Asian Spirit, a locator at the Clark Export Processing Zone, to get free tax and other duties.
In 2006, however, Po said the former First Gentleman informed him that Arroyo was selling the five helicopters at US$350,000 each.
“I commented that the price was on the high side for a pre-owned helicopter but FG said that was the price he was willing to sell the helicopters,” Po said.
In 2009, the Manila Aerospace Products Trading (Maptra), an accredited PNP supplier of helicopters, tendered a proposal to Po for their purchase of four pre-owned helicopters.
Po referred the proposal to Arroyo who eventually agreed, ending up in the sale of two of his four helicopters as “brand new” to the PNP. Po said one of the five helicopters crashed in 2007.
Hilario De Vera, president and general manager of Maptra, also read his own affidavit that corroborated the testimony of Po.
De Vera said he was forced to sell the pre-owned helicopters as brand new to the PNP after Po informed him about the order of the First Gentleman.
“Sinabi ko na sa iyo huwag kang mag-alala dahil kahit ano i-deliver mo sa kanila, walang magtatanong at tatangapin yan kasi may order na sila galling kay FG kung ano dapat gawin. At alam ko kikita ka naman diyan sa dalawang pre-owned na Raven I kaya bigyan mo ako dyan ng 50 percent sa neto mo para sa extra effort ko naman dyan sa transaksyon ((I told you not worry because whatever you would deliver to them, nobody will question and they will accept it because they have order from First Gentleman on what to do. I know you will earn from these two pre-owned Raven I so you have to give me 50 percent from the net for my effort in this transaction),” De Vera said, quoting Po in one of their series of meetings.
“If you don’t want to follow, you won’t be able to sell anything to the PNP. I won’t be able to help you. That’s what FG wants,” De Vera quoted Po in his affidavit.
De Vera said that he signed the PNP supply contract on July 23, 2009.
De Vera said the two pre-owned helicopters, along with the real brand new chopper, were delivered and received by the PNP “without question or complaints after they inspected them.”
“I confirmed here that all what Mr. Archie Po said then were all true that nobody from the PNP will question on what I have delivered because they have instructions or order from FG,” De Vera said.
Po said in his own affidavit that in April 2010, he turned over Maptra’s full payment to Arroyo. Po revealed that over US$700,000 or roughly P31 million have been personally delivered to the First Gentleman as payment for the two pre-owned helicopters. The brand new helicopter was sold for P42 million.
”Actually, the Maptra paid us P42 million with P31 million has been given and minute duties and taxes, we earned over P3 million for the sale of the helicopters,” Po said.
He said he did not know what happened to the helicopters after they were turned them over to Maptra.
He added Arroyo has two more helicopters at the LionAir hangar, and that his company has been billing the former.
Another witness, Roselily Santos who is marketing director for government and military of Maptra, also showed up and confirmed the transactions pertaining to the purchase of the PNP choppers.
Santos said the purchase order was signed by then PNP chief Jesus Versoza.
Also, Po confirmed Tuesday that the former First Gentleman called him up before facing the Senate inquiry but clarified that Arroyo did not stop him from appearing before the second Senate probe into the questionable acquisition of the PNP choppers.
“He just asked me what happened and there’s a long silence. We talked over the phone for only less than a minute,” Po said.
Po asked the panel for protection from possible criminal liability that may be filed against him in exchange of his testimony.
With the expose of Po and De Vera, Lacson asked the Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Teofisto Guingona Jr. to invite Arroyo and his accountant a certain Rowena del Rosario in the next Senate hearing.
Guingona granted the request. The next hearing is scheduled on August 11.
Aside from Po and De Vera, the PNP team that inspected the choppers prior to purchase also appeared in Tuesday’s Senate inquiry.
The team said the helicopters looked and smelled new and that the cabin was covered with cellophane.
“They were new, your honor,” Ruben Gongona, a non-uniformed personnel with the PNP inspection team, told the Senate blue ribbon committee.
Police Chief Inspector Josefina Recometa, for her part, said the helicopters were brand new. However, she said that all she had to base her assessment on were photographs of the units. She said she was late for the inspection because she had to take care of family matters.
“If you go by the pictures (they are new units),” she said.
Police Director Ronald Roderos, vice chairman of the negotiation committee that bought the helicopters, said he signed the inspection report without seeing the helicopters. “I was depending on my people,” he said.
Two members of the team, Police Superintendents Larry Balmaceda and
Claudio Gaspar Jr. said they knew the units were second-hand. Gaspar said he was not aware that the PNP required brand-new units.
PNP Director General Raul Bacalzo later told senators that he had seen and heard enough at the hearings for him to take action. He said he has tasked the PNP’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to investigate the helicopter purchases. He asked the Senate blue ribbon committee for copies of documents and transcripts of the hearings.
Senator Franklin Drilon said Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales might also appreciate copies of the blue ribbon committee’s records.
“I’m sure the Ombudsman has been monitoring this,” he said.
Meanwhile, Secretary Carandang said that it is up to the DOJ to provide protection for those who have revealed vital information about the scandal before the Senate hearing.
President Benigno Aquino III, in a separate interview, said the government will “file appropriate charges” against those responsible for the anomalous transactions.
“This is one of the issues that were never answered, so naturally we will go where the evidence tells us to. Meaning, we will file the appropriate charges where there is proof of evidence to warrant a conviction,” Aquino said in an interview in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
He refused to comment further because he was unable to keep tabs on the Senate inquiry. (PNA/Sunnex)

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/08/02/senator-mulls-placing-arroyos-husband-immigration-watchlist-170496