PNP handwriting expert says she was pressured in Jose Pidal case

A handwriting expert surfaced on Thursday to testify that she had been pressured into producing an official report that helped show that Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo owned the controversial Jose Pidal accounts in 2003.

Dr. Mely Sorra, head of Camp Crame’s questioned documents division, cited “pressure” from her boss in ruling that specimen signatures she analyzed eight years ago both belonged to Ignacio.

Sorra was referring to her former boss, retired Chief Supt. Restituto Mosqueda, who alleged on Monday that Ignacio had forged the signatures to save the neck of his older brother, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo.

Mike was accused of keeping more than P200 million in campaign contributions for his wife in the Jose Pidal accounts.

Under questioning by Sen. Francis Escudero, Sorra said she gave the highest possible evaluation favoring Arroyo owing to Mosqueda’s regular presence while she was conducting the examination at the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory.

Mere ‘indications’

“The mere fact that General Mosqueda was always present, that was perhaps the (evaluation) that I could give,” she said.

Asked if she would revise her conclusion given the opportunity now, she said she would probably settle with the finding that the signatures merely showed “indications” of belonging to the same person.

“Indication,” she said, was the lowest evaluation used at the crime lab.

“Perhaps, I would no longer (go for the previous findings) because General Mosqueda is no longer by my side,” she said.

Sorra admitted that her office did not impose proper procedures in the submission of documents for examination.

She said she analyzed only a photocopy of a supposed signature of Ignacio on a blank coupon bond. She said she compared it with another Jose Pidal signature submitted to her office.

Sorra acknowledged that she did not know whether the signature on bond paper had been actually made by Ignacio.