Special Action Force pilot implicated in helicopter sale

MANILA, Philippines—Not only did this pilot ferry members of the Arroyo family on a helicopter that was later passed off as brand-new and sold to the Philippine National Police in 2009; he was also one of the inspectors who certified the apparently second-hand chopper as brand-new.

Superintendent Claudio D.S. Gaspar Jr. of the PNP’s elite Special Action Force is in hot water following the discovery by the Department of the Interior and Local Government of his involvement in the anomalous P105-million transaction.

Interior Secretary Jesse M. Robredo said he had received information that Gaspar was one of the pilots tapped to fetch and ferry members of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s family to and from various places in the country.

Flight logs have shown that the Arroyo family were frequent passengers of the two Robinson R44 Raven 1 model choppers before these were sold and passed off as brand-new to the PNP’s SAF unit.

“Worse, Gaspar even acted as one of the 16 members of the PNP Inspection Team who certified that the two used helicopters bought by the PNP on September 24, 2009 were brand-new,” Robredo said in a statement Thursday.

Senator Panfilo Lacson earlier alleged that the Arroyos were the previous owners of the choppers, a charge the family has denied.

Robredo said he had asked one of his men to look for and talk to the police officer but was informed he was “working for his early retirement from the service.”

Thus, he asked the National Police Commission to hold Gaspar’s papers in abeyance “until he has cleared his name in the controversy,” Robredo said.

At least 23 police officers have been implicated in the alleged irregularity, including the seven members of PNP bids and awards panel chaired by now retired PNP deputy director general Jefferson Soriano.

The PNP originally bought three choppers for P104.9 million, one of which was truly brand-new, having logged only 9.9 hours of flying time. But the two others were found to have logged an average flying time of 500 hours before they were received by the SAF’s Air Unit.

The two Robinson choppers (with body number RP-4375 and RP 4250) were previously registered to Asian Spirit Inc., which leased them to Lion Air Inc. in 2004.

But it was Manila Aerospace Products Trading (Maptra), owned by one Hilario “Larry” De Vera, that negotiated for the PNP purchase.

The DILG said it would probe how Maptra, “without showing proof of ownership of the two choppers, managed to sell the refurbished aircraft to the PNP without undergoing scrutiny.”