Mike Arroyo on Corona: He’s a ‘very upright man’

Former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Words of support were Thursday offered to the impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona by the husband of former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo told reporters that while Corona held  important posts during his wife’s presidency, the two of them were not close. “If there was any relationship [between] us, it was professional only,” he said.

But he described Corona, whom his wife named chief justice in what critics call a “midnight appointment,” as a “very upright man” who “decides according to his conscience.”

Commenting on the accusation that the Supreme Court under Corona had shown bias in his wife’s favor in its rulings, Mike Arroyo said: “It’s a collegial vote, not a single vote.”

He said his message for Corona was to be “steadfast.”

“This will all pass,” he said.

Ambush interview

Mike Arroyo made these remarks when asked for his views on Corona’s ongoing impeachment trial during an ambush interview at the Office of the Ombudsman.

He had come to file a counteraffidavit to a graft complaint lodged against him in connection with the sale to the Philippine National Police of used helicopters passed off as brand-new.

Mike Arroyo said he had been following the impeachment trial on TV and telling his wife, who is under hospital arrest on charges of electoral sabotage, about the proceedings.

Going after friends

He said he was happy with how Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, the presiding officer, had been handling the trial.

Mike Arroyo also said the Aquino administration was going after his and his wife’s friends and other people close to them.

“All our friends, all those connected to us, are being harassed. They are to be pitied; so are we,” he said. “There’s no due process now.”