Lacson: 2 more Arroyo-owned choppers still with Lion Air

Senator Panfilo Lacson on Thursday claimed that two more helicopters supposedly owned by former First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo are still with the distributing company that supposedly supplied pre-owned choppers to the Philippine National Police (PNP). In an interview after the Senate blue ribbon committee's hearing on the alleged misrepresentations in the PNP's multi-million peso purchase of helicopters, Lacson said two more of Mr. Arroyo’s choppers are still with Lion Air. "I assume that he will not claim ownership of the helicopters to avoid suspicion that he was involved in the sale of pre-owned choppers to the PNP," the senator said in Filipino. Lion Air was the company that sold two pre-owned R44 Raven I choppers to the Manila Aerospace Trading Corporation (MAPTRA), which sold and priced them as brand new to the PNP. Lacson, however, had earlier asserted that the two helicopters were actually owned by Mr. Arroyo. "Kanya naman talaga yun (Those were really his). We're still gathering documents to (prove our) suspicion," he said. During Thursday's hearing, Superintendent Claudio Gaspar Jr. confirmed that he used to pilot the two choppers, which were used by the Arroyo family when Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was still President. Gaspar noted, however, that from what he understood, the choppers were owned by Lion Air and not the Arroyo family. But Lacson said that only the Arroyos would have had the same power to immediately get certifications for the choppers when they arrived in 2004. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMA News