De Lima: Poll fraud probe may include 'PNP choppers mess'

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Friday said the so-called "PNP (Philippine National Police) choppers mess" may be included in the investigation on the supposed fraud in the 2004 and 2007 elections. De Lima told reporters that there was a need to determine if former President Gloria Arroyo and her family used the controversial choppers during the campaign period for the 2004 elections. The possibility was raised by De Lima after two former pilots testified before a Senate inquiry that they flew former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, members of his family, and other government officials. "There's an angle in their story that made us think if those choppers were used in the elections, so we are curious because the pilots may also have additional knowledge. We want to know who their passengers were, where they went, and what the circumstances are," De Lima told reporters. De Lima then said that the said angle will be explored by the joint committee formed by the Department of Justice and the Commission on Elections to verify claims that there was massive shaving and padding of votes in the 2004 polls. "The pilots said something that was unclear or incomplete, and this would make us curious. The fact-finding team would know what to do if the pilots would be summoned," said De Lima. Pilots' testimony During Thursday's Senate blue ribbon committee hearing, former Lion Air pilots Dennis Silvestre and Margarito Labastilla claimed that they flew two R44 Raven 1 helicopters with serial numbers 1370 and 1371, usually with members of the Arroyo family on board. Lion Air was the supplier that 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. Silvestre has testified that during the 2004 elections, Lion Air assigned him to Davao. He added that the flights included Tawi-Tawi, General Santos City, and Cagayan de Oro, where he flew Mr. Arroyo twice. 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. The camp of Arroyos has earlier denied that the former president, who is the currently a Pampanga congresswoman, cheated her closest rival in the 2004 presidential elections — the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. However, personalities once close to the Arroyos say otherwise. Suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Zaldy Ampatuan and former Elections supervisor Lintang Bedol said the Arroyos orchestrated cheating in the 2004 and 2007 elections. A group of policemen led by Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago also recently came out publicly to confirm that original election returns (ERs) were stolen from the Batasan Pambansa building in 2005 so they can be replaced with fake ones. The operation was carried out as a cover up for cheating. The original ERs were replaced with fake ones ensure that Mrs. Arroyo would still emerge as the winner should there be a recount of votes in the 2004 polls, Santiago said. - VVP, GMA News