Iggy would rather testify in court than attend Senate probe
August 20, 2011
REPRESENTATIVE Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo (5th District, Negros Occidental) refused to attend the Senate panel hearing on alleged anomalous sale of helicopters and said the committee should instead address its recommendations to the appropriate agencies and the courts.
In a statement sent to the media by his lawyer, Arroyo declined the invitation sent by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee which seeks his participation on its probe over the alleged sale of second-hand helicopters as brand new to the Philippine National Police (PNP). The lawmaker is currently in London seeking treatment for an unspecified liver condition.
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The lawmaker is being called by the Senate panel after the former claimed that his brother, former First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, has no involvement in the said transaction.
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“I will have to decline the invitation, not only because it is physically impossible for me to be present in the subject hearing, as I am currently in London, but also, and more importantly, because there is a clear agenda that some senators have admitted, which can no longer be in pursuit of the legislative mandate of the committee to conduct proceedings in aid of legislation,” he said in a statement.
The hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee scheduled on August 22 (Monday) can be described as “as prosecutorial, if not outrightly vindictive”, Arroyo added.
“The announcements of particular Senators already manifest an evident bias, and an undisguised plot to humiliate the Arroyo family. I refuse to be a hapless pawn in this wild witch hunt propelled by political motive,” he said.
The legislator had said that Lourdes T. Arroyo, Inc. (LTA, Inc.) was the lessee of five helicopters from Lion Air Inc. back in 2003. He said his brother was not connected to the company then.
Senators, however, believed that the lawmaker from Negros Occidental was only covering up for his brother.
Senator Panfilo Lacson said Iggy may be charged for falsification of documents because the lease agreement was notarized by lawyer Lope Velasco in Makati City on March 16, 2004. The residence certificate or cedula of Lionair’s corporate secretary Renato Sia, who signed the document on behalf of the company, however was dated only on April 2, 2004.
In a separate press statement by LTA Inc.’s counsel, lawyer Andresito Fornier, he said that the lease agreement entered into by Lionair Inc. President Archibald Po and LTA “should speak for itself and cannot be discredited by Mr. Po or his publicists simply by diverting attention from substance to irrelevant and immaterial points such as notarization and manner of signing”.
“In this country there seems to be an over fixation on notarization, even if an agreement not need to be in a public instrument. LTA, Inc. did not need a notarized agreement with Lionair. It was Lionair which gave a notarized copy of the agreement to LTA, Inc.,” he said.
“Incidentally, has Mr. Sia commented on his participation in the agreement in question?…We can go on without end to the other irrelevant points raised by Mr. Po’s adherents but it leads us nowhere and away from the truth, which is what the Senate inquiry is all about, and, presumably, in ‘aid of legislation’,” he added.
Like Arroyo, Fornier said that Senate and its members should not pretend to be prosecutors and judges since they were elected only to enact, amend and repeal laws, and conduct inquiries in aid of legislation.
Palace urges Iggy Arroyo to attend Senate probe
Meanwhile, Malacanang said it would be better for Arroyo to attend the Senate hearing if he really wants to clear his brother’s name.
Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Arroyo should back up his claims and face the Senate probe, which will resume on Monday.
“It’s better for him to attend the Senate so that the senators can verify from him as to the nature, as to the status, as to the events that transpired in the purchase of the helicopters,” Lacierda said. “Without his testimony, it would be unfair for him or the First Gentleman because without his testimony under oath, the reported buyer would have been the First Gentleman,” he added.
Former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo was earlier summoned by the Senate to attend the investigation but he snubbed it citing health reasons. (Kathrina Alvarez/Jill Beltran/Sunnex)
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/08/20/iggy-would-rather-testify-court-attend-senate-probe-174150
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