Mike Arroyo denies hand in PNP helicopter scam

Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The husband of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has asked the Office of the Ombudsman to dismiss the graft complaint filed against him in connection with the 2009 sale of used helicopters allegedly passed off as brand-new to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

In a counter-affidavit submitted Thursday, Jose Miguel Arroyo denied owning the helicopters and denounced the statements of Lionair owner Archibald Po, who had testified in a Senate inquiry last year that he delivered $700,000 in cash to Arroyo at the LTA Building in Makati following the sale of the helicopters.

Arroyo said he never received $700,000 from Po. He also said that if it was true that he was behind the P62-million sale of the two helicopters to the police, he would have gotten the entire amount and not allowed himself to receive only half of that, or $700,000, or P31.5 million.

Anomalous

Lionair sold the helicopters to the PNP through an accredited supplier, Manila Aerospace Products Trading Corp. (Maptra), allegedly at Arroyo’s behest.

The sale of two helicopters to the PNP was alleged to be anomalous because they were sold at brand-new prices even though they were secondhand.

Po’s statements were among those cited in the filing of the complaint against Arroyo before the Office of the Ombudsman. The complaint is undergoing preliminary investigation at the agency.

According to Arroyo, Po’s statements were “incredible,” “self-serving” and part of a “poorly scripted story.” He also said Po had no business being a state witness since his testimony could not be substantially corroborated and his “obviously scripted statements are inconsistent with each other.”

Arroyo noted that the two helicopters were sold to the PNP for P62.67 million. But if he were the owner of the helicopters and was involved in the transaction, he would not have allowed Po and Maptra to give him only $700,000, or P31.5 million.

Incredible

“If I were indeed the owner of the helicopters, would it not be compatible with common human experience that I should get the entire amount of P62 million and just give Mr. Po his balato [bonus] for his efforts?” he said.

“A true owner would not allow other people to sell his property for more than

P62 million and be given only about half of the purchase price,” he added.

He also said it was incredible for Po to have paid such a huge amount to him without even a simple receipt as proof of payment.

Arroyo also noted that Lionair reported a gross profit of P4.513 million and net income of P2.356 million from the sale. It was clear that the net income was not from commissions from brokering a sale of someone’s property, but a profit from the sale of its own asset, he said.

Arroyo also said it was not him, but LTA, which had paid the initial deposit to Robinson Helicopter Co. for the purchase of the helicopters in 2003. He said long before LTA bought helicopters, he had divested himself of any interest in the company, as shown by many documents, including a deed of assignment of shares of stock in favor of Benito Araneta.

Loan to Lionair

Arroyo’s brother, Ignacio, had also testified that LTA had advanced the money to purchase five helicopters by way of a loan in favor of Po and Lionair.

He said it was clear that the five helicopters, two of which were sold to the PNP, belonged to Lionair or Asian Spirit, and were never owned by LTA or by him.

He also pointed out that documents issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration that the purchaser of two of the helicopters was Lionair. Air Transportation Office certificates of registration also show that the helicopters’ owners were Po’s Asian Spirit and Lionair, he said further.

He said that testimonial evidence could not prevail over documentary evidence.

He also said it was Po’s practice to fabricate documents on the ownership and use of his aircraft to suit his whims.

Arroyo, in his counter-affidavit, also disputed Po’s statements that his company was just holding titles to Arroyo’s helicopters in trust.

“Any person with a little common sense would not allow his helicopters worth millions to be held in trust by a stranger without any written proof of the trust arrangement,” he said.

Originally posted at 03:33 pm | Thursday, January 19, 2012