Mikey Arroyo says wealth came from wedding, poll donors

Pampanga Rep. and presidential son Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo said Tuesday that a large portion of his wealth came from generous wedding and campaign donors.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Mikey, the eldest son of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, made the revelation in an interview over GMA7’s Unang Hirit with hosts Arnold Clavio and Winnie Monsod about where his wealth came from. His assets, which supposedly include a $1.32 million (P63.7-million) residential house in the United States, were made public in a report of Vera Files, which said Mikey Arroyo failed to mention the property in his 2007 and 2008 Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Networth (SALNs). [See: Arroyo sons buy luxury US homes after House election] The Vera Files report said the house is located at 1655 Beach Park Blvd in Foster City in San Mateo County, California. Mikey’s wealth reportedly ballooned from the time he got married to wife Angela in June 2002 and became Pampanga vice governor in 2001-04. He was elected congressman for Pampanga’s 2nd district in 2004 and got re-elected in 2007. Mikey on Tuesday claimed to have declared all of his properties in his SALN, contrary to the Vera Files report. “Alam niyo nung kinasal tayo nuon, medyo nagkaroon tayo ng maraming regalo. Tapos pag kampanya, siyempre kahit papaano marami ding tumutulong sa atin. Hindi naman sa nakaipon, pero siyempre nakakagaan ng kaunti and we had some good investments," he explained. (You know, when I married my wife, we received plenty of gifts. And during campaign periods, we had plenty of donors. It’s not that we hoarded donations but these helped lessen our personal expenses and we were able to make good investments). Mum on accumulation of wealth Mikey refused to answer queries about how he accumulated wealth from P5 million in 2002 to P76.9 million in 2005, or a span of just three years. He also would not explain how the amount rose to as much as P99 million in 2008. In the interview over Unang Hirit, Mikey said the house is not in his wife's name. According to him, it is actually a property of Beach Way Park LLC, of which he is a shareholder. He said his involvement with the company is declared in his SALN. "When I go on vacations, siyempre I stay there. Just like the other shareholders, they stay there also," he said, adding that his immediate family owns about 40 percent of the company's shares. “In 2002, I was a vice governor. I only became congressman in 2004, under the law assuming you make mistakes in your SAL, you can always amend it the next year as long as you pay the proper taxes," he explained. “Hindi pa tayo marunong mag-declare nun, so siyempre those shortcomings are amended the next year," he said. “As I said I'm not the sole owner of that. I have friends who co-own it, we're part of corporation." When asked how, he retorted: “That's personal to me, and the law says there's a way of amending that. As far as I’m concerned, as far as the lawyers who prepared my SALN are concerned, we did our part in trying to amend such errors." “As a matter of fact, I was saying previous interviews nga na when he (lawyer) comes back from abroad, I’m sure he can explain that. I'm not hiding anything eh," the young lawmaker reiterated. Unfazed Mikey said he was unfazed by activist lawyer Harry Roque’s plan to file a case against him and his brother Diosdado "Dato" Macapagal Arroyo over properties they acquired in the United States after being elected into office. [See: Lawyer eyes cases vs Arroyo sons over US properties] "This is a welcome development for me. Now, the rules of evidence will have to govern the issue. No one can anymore grandstand at my expense and try to mislead the public," Mikey said in a text message to reporters. Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez also dared those who have any complaints to filed charges against Mikey, but noted that the onus in filing evidence is on them. He said people should be discerning because "we need to find out the interests of those who filed the case if they have personal and political interests because its the political season." But the presidential son refused to name the other shareholders, saying he was "not at liberty (to disclose their names) because they're private citizens" despite his interviewer Winnie Monsod's insistence that he disclose their names as the issue is of public concern. When questioned over the rise in his assets when he became elected congressman, Mikey said there had been errors in his previous SALN as vice governor of Pampanga which he and his lawyers tried to make up for in his SALNs when he became Pampanga representative. "Under the law assuming you make mistakes in your SALN, you can always amend it the next year ... hindi pa tayo sanay magdeclare non diba (We were not used to declaring then)," he said. In light of the controversy, militant lawmakers have sought an inquiry into the effectiveness of using the SALNs to determine the real net worth of public officials and employees. "It is high time for Congress to scrutinize the system of reporting of the SALN and to determine whether or not drafting a new law is necessary to ensure that all civil servants stick to the basic rule of utmost transparency when submitting their SALNs," said Bayan Muna Representatives Teodoro Casiño and Satur Ocampo and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza in House Resolution 1358 filed earlier in the day. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV