Mike Arroyo asks Sandiganbayan to allow review of graft case

Former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Jose Miguel Arroyo, the husband of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has asked the Sandiganbayan Second Division to allow him to contest the Office of the Ombudsman ruling that indicted him in the allegedly anomalous sale of helicopters to the Philippine National Police.

In a pleading filed through his lawyers, Arroyo asked that he be allowed to file a motion for reconsideration on the Ombudsman’s resolution that found him liable for graft.

The Office of the Ombudsman went ahead and filed the graft charges against Arroyo in the Sandiganbayan before  he could file a motion for reconsideration on its adverse findings.

According to Arroyo, the filing of a motion for reconsideration is necessary for the preliminary investigation of a case to be complete. He cited jurisprudence to support his plea.

Arroyo and 21 others were earlier charged with graft for their involvement in the sale of two secondhand helicopters that had been passed off as brand-new to the PNP.

The Office of the Ombudsman said that Arroyo was the owner of the secondhand helicopters. It alleged that the two used aircraft sold to the PNP had expired engine warranties and did not conform to the PNP’s specifications on the endurance and ventilating system. Despite this, the PNP paid brand-new prices for the helicopters, it alleged.

Arroyo has denied conspiring with the PNP on the purchase of the helicopters whose ownership he also denied.  Leila B. Salaverria