Philippine Star: Senators want Mikey charged
by Wendell Vigilia
Malaya
“JUST talk to my lawyer.”
Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo (Lakas-Kampi, Pampanga), the President’s eldest son, yesterday evaded questions on why he failed to declare with the Commission on Elections contributions which he said he received when he ran for Congress in 2004 and 2007.
“My lawyer arrived already. Siya na lang kausapin natin,” he said over the phone as he refused to entertain further inquiries on the issue.
Mikey was referring to an Attorney De Guzman, the same lawyer he earlier said would answer questions pertaining to his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN).
He declined to answer further questions about the lawyer during the phone interview.
Opposition Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero challenged the Arroyo government to confiscate the alleged “unexplained wealth” of the presidential son.
Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on justice and human rights, said the Presidential Commission on Good Government could initiate sequestration proceedings.
“Sa bibig nahuhuli ang isda. This makes it unexplained wealth in violation of the law which can subject the property to forfeiture proceedings in favor of the government,” Escudero said.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan recommended the filing of a graft case against Rep. Arroyo.
However, he expressed doubt if the case would prosper in court. He said it would be better if charges are filed under the next administration.
Malacañang said President Arroyo would leave her son to defend himself. Lorelei Fajardo, deputy presidential spokeswoman, said it is not the first time the Arroyo family has been subjected to attacks.
She said Mikey is “old enough” to defend himself.
On Tuesday last week, Arroyo said part of his multi-million wealth came from campaign donations, wedding gifts and real property investments like his P63.7-million beach front property in the San Francisco Bay Area in California.
He said the donations and gifts were partly the reason his declared net worth ballooned from P5.7 million in 2001 to P74.4 million in 2004 and then to P99.2 million last year.
Arroyo made the statements on the campaign contributions following a report of VERA Files, which came out August 31, that said he failed to declare in his SALN for the last two years the beach front property which he bought and then transferred to his wife Angela in 2006.
Last Monday, VERA Files came out with another report which said Arroyo has failed to declare the campaign contributions to the Comelec.
Arroyo married his second cousin, Ma. Angela Montenegro, in June 2002. His net worth grew by more than 1,600 percent in the seven years that he has been a public official.
The latest VERA Files report said Arroyo’s contributions and expenses for the last two congressional elections show zero donations to his campaign, which he reported as having been funded from his own pocket.
The Omnibus Election Code requires candidates to file a “full, true and itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the election” within 30 days after the election. This means the candidate is supposed to declare contributions in all forms and amounts made by all donors.
The Comelec has said it does not have any say on how the candidates would be spending excess campaign donations because its power is limited to checking whether a candidate overspent during the campaign or not. – With JP Lopez and Jocelyn Montemayor
Glad this story isn’t burried under the other headlines… Go get ’em, Vera Files people…
Nail the dumb, arrogant brat to the mast!
“Sa bibig nahuhuli ang isda”
Sa kaso ni Mikey, ang katangahan niya ang nakahuli sa kanya. Bobo kasi!!!
“Bobo kasi!!!”
Heheh! Puro taba kasi ang kinain noong bata, walang gulay, kaya iyong brains hindi na develop.
And he makes laws for Pinas? Oh geez…
Sige mga presidentiables, follow Vera Files scoops and leads baka mapansin namin kayo….
Long time impotents, the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), Office of the Ombudsman, Money Laundering Council, Comelec and the Department of Justice are sleeping on the job. They see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil at all if Jose Pidal Mafia family is involved. Order ni Mrs. itoh. Siguro natapalan sila ng pera kaya tahimik lahat. Kahit aminin pa ni Mikey Arroyo ang kanyang kinurakot hindi siya makukulong dahil untouchable siya.
Alam naman ni Chiz na walang mangyayari, kaya dakdak ng dakdak, papogi points lamang, dahil malapit na ang election. Wag pagoyo.
Same tactic used by alan Cayetano during 2004 election when he made issues against FG’s german bank account, when after all nothing happened up to this time.
Off Topic
Hi Ellen, Tongue, and anybody who’s knowledgeable about blogs:
something is wrong with my Manila Bay Watch blog; a notice has been slapped on my blog when I write posts:
Hi Ellen, Tongue, and anybody who’s knowledgeable about blogs:
This blog has been locked due to possible Blogger Terms of Service violations. You may not publish new posts until your blog is reviewed and unlocked.
This blog will be deleted within 20 days unless you request a review.
First time it happened (and so I was reminded of Tongue and something he said about what happened to his own blog).
But despite the so-called “locking”, I’m still able to open my blog and write posts … matter of fact, I’ve just written 1. I tried to review the terms of service and this is what it says:
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Seems to me someone or some people are out to make trouble. My other blogs are perfectly alright except for Manila Bay Watch which is about Philippine politics.
Chiz, a certified trapo as:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/letterstotheeditor/view/20090907-223964/Escudero-still-young-but-already-certified-trapo
Martina, sinabi mo pa. Chiz is only gaining mileage for his candidacy. Balita ko he will be Erap’s running mate so in ase Erap is disqualified to serve, si Chiz nga naman ang uupo. Clever eh!
PSB, Chiz will not be running mate of Erap. There is no truth to those talks.
Ellen, the atmosphere is so volatile kasi.
So Erap does not have a VP yet and so does Villar. At least si Noynoy at Mar (if Noynoy agrees to run) have a complete head.
Chiz won’t be Erap’s running mate. Boss Danding will never allow it to happen AFAIK. He wanted his own complete slate in NPC.
JUST TO TAKL TO MY LAWYER…oo nga naman kasi nag mukha syang tanga kina winie at arnold… kaya dapat yung lawyer ng ama nya na ubod din ng sinungaling…….
Danding may have something up his sleeve that we don’t know yet. His NPC is going up against NP, LP and Erap’s group. His congressmen are aligned with Lakas-Kampi which means that there might be some back-door negotiations between him and Gloria. NPC is not opposition, despite Chiz’ supposedly opposition stance.
Whose SALN is in question? Mikey’s or his lawyer’s? ‘Talk to my lawyer’? Akala ko ba, ‘self-explanatory’? Bakit hindi niya ma-explain?
PCGG? But aren’t the members of PCGG in “ze poket” of Gloria?
Kasi Ka Enchong, hindi alam ni Mikey ang meaning ng Ingles na ‘self-explanatory’. Akala niya ay nakakain yun.
Ganyan talaga ang mga liars, kinokontra ang mga sarili. Nung isang araw ay si Senga, kamakalawa ay si Chavit, at ngayon at si Mikey. Signs of impending doom of Gloria’s stolen rule.
There’s something about Chiz. Too glib. Too smooth. Too smart alecky. I don’t trust people like this.
I will start to believe him when he starts looking into and criticizing the way San Miguel Corporation has been getting into dubious projects with the government lately. The Laiban Dam deal is just one. The millions of hectares of agricultural lands to be leased from government, for another. The coco levy fund use in SMC, for still another.
Right, Phil. Don’t forget Petron and Meralco, too. There are nasty whispers I hear it’s the Pidal loot being washed in SMC’s laundromat with the dirt bags being shipped in from China and the middle east. Ownership of top companies by assigment in exchange for political/business favors.
Guys, if Among Ed will opt for re-election for governor, then it will be difficult for Mikey to give way for dirty ol’ mama and face the priest. The dumb horse may choose to run to keep his post. Randy David vs. Mikey Arroyo is a more exciting match.
Ellen, you spoke too soon. Chiz is now the running mate of Erap. It is getting more interesting everyday.
Ops, Ellen, thinking pa lang pala. He will decide when he turns 40 daw.