Senate probe into PNP's chopper purchase starts Thursday

The Senate blue ribbon committee will begin this Thursday an inquiry into alleged misrepresentations in the purchase of "pre-owned" light operational helicopters by the Philippine National Police (PNP) in 2009. In an advisory sent to the media, the Senate blue ribbon committee said the inquiry will start at 9:00 a.m. According to the panel, among the resource persons invited to the hearing were PNP chief Raul Bacalzo, retired PNP chief Gen. Jesus Versoza, members of the PNP bids and awards and inspection and acceptance committees, Zest Airways Inc. president and CEO Alfredo Yaon, Lion Air president Archibald Legaspi Po, and representatives of Manila Aerospace Trading Corp. (MAPTRA). Thursday's probe stemmed from a Senate resolution, filed by Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III and Sen. Panfilo Lacson, seeking to take a closer look at the acquisition of Light Police Operational Helicopters (LPOHs) from MAPTRA for the PNP Special Action Force (SAF). The senators explained that on May 8, 2009 the PNP Negotiation Committee started talks with MAPTRA to buy one equipped LPOH and two standard LPOHs for P105 million, even though the PNP-SAF needed three equipped LPOHs. Then PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa approved the supply contract to pay MAPTRA P104.985 million for a Robinson R44 Raven II and two Robinson R44 Raven I helicopters. Guingona and Lacson, however, said MAPTRA "intentionally misrepresented" the helicopters they were selling as brand new and the PNP accepted the same as true. They explained that flight logs indicate that the two R44 Raven I choppers sold to the PNP were already "pre-owned" as far back as March 2004. Lacson later on claimed that the helicopters were previously owned by the family of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. — VS, GMA News