New witnesses implicate Mike Arroyo in PNP chopper scandal

Two new witnesses on Thursday testified before the Senate blue ribbon committee that former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo is the owner of five helicopters, two of which were sold to the Philipine National Police (PNP) as brand new in 2009. Testifying before the Senate panel, witnesses Domingo Lazo and Edith Solano-Juguan said that Mr. Arroyo owned the choppers. Lazo, who was the flight dispatcher at Lion Air, said that all flight instructions for the five R44 Raven 1 helicopters - two of which were later sold to the PNP - came from Mr. Arroyo. "Ang natatandaan ko po lahat ng instruction galing lahat sa kanya. Lahat po ng flight schedule, sino pasahero, san pupunta galing sa kanya. Ang pagkakasabi po sakin ni Mr. Po, si FG po may-ari," he said. Last week, Lion Air president Archibald Legaspi Po confirmed that Mr. Arroyo was the previous owner of the choppers that were sold as brand new to the PNP. Earlier in the day, Robinson Raven helicopter distributor Renato Sia likewise said that they have credit memos and wire transfer certificates that would prove that Mr. Arroyo's family firm, LTA Incorporated, paid for the deposit of five R44 Raven I choppers in 2004. Juguan, who was part of Lion Air's marketing department, said for seven years, she went to Mr. Arroyo's LTA office monthly to get payments for the maintenance of the five helicopters. She said that this would include payments for fuel, takeoff, landing, pilot fees, and renewals of registration. She said that she only received cash payments as big as P1 million on the advice of Rowena del Rosario, who was an employee of Mr. Arroyo. She said that she did not sign or have anything signed to prove the transaction. Lion Air was the supplier which sold two R44 Raven I choppers with serial numbers 1372 and 1374 to the Manila Aerospace Trading Corporation (MAPTRA), which sold and priced them as brand new to the PNP in 2009. MAPTRA president Hilario De Vera said that the former First Gentleman had already made a deal with PNP officials so that they would accept the choppers without question. During Thursday's hearing, former police pilots Dennis Silvestre and Margarito Labastilla also confirmed that they flew two R44 Raven 1 helicopters with serial numbers 1370 and 1371, usually with members of the Arroyo family on board. Sen. President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, for his part, noted that the trips were usually made to Mindanao during the 2004 elections - where there was reportedly widespread fraud. "Nagkakatugma talaga yung pagpunta mo doon sa Mindanao sapagkat nagasasagawa sila ng special operations para ma-ensure yung pagkapanalo ni GMA," he said. - RSJ/KBK/HS, GMA News