Senate may ask SC to compel Arroyo brother to attend chopper deal probe

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate may ask the Supreme Court to compel Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo to face its investigation into the allegedly anomalous purchase of used helicopters by the Philippine National Police, a former senator said on Thursday.

But former Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. doubts if the court would intervene because of the political nature of the issue.

Securing a court order, Pimentel said, was just one of two options that the Senate may take if Arroyo would decline the invitation of the Senate blue ribbon committee to attend its hearing on the controversy.

Arroyo claimed that the five helicopters allegedly owned by his brother, former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, was only leased by the family-owned LTA Inc. from Lionair Inc.

At least two of the helicopters were allegedly sold to the PNP in 2009.

The first option, Pimentel said, was to appeal to the leadership of the House of Representatives to “effect the appearance of Rep. Iggy Arroyo.”

“Probably kung wala na yun, a recourse to the justice department may also be a possibility,” the former senator said during a weekly forum in the Senate.

“But my initial reaction is that the Supreme Court might wash their hands and say that this is a political issue, let the political branches of government determine that,’ he pointed out.

Pimentel was not sure if the second option — getting a court order to compel a member of Congress — had been done in the past.