Witness: Iggy Arroyo lied about chopper lease agreement

A witness on Monday claimed that Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio “Iggy" Arroyo lied when he said his brother First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike" Arroyo was not the owner of the helicopters sold as brand new to the Philippine National Police (PNP) in 2009. During Monday's Senate hearing on the PNP choppers mess, Lionair general manager Renato Sia said Iggy's claims — that Mike was not the owner of the Robinson helicopters and that the Arroyo-owned company LTA Inc. only leased the aircraft — were not true. "These two claims are false. The truth being is FG is the owner of the choppers," he said. Earlier, Iggy said Mike did not own the choppers since they were only leased from Lionair, Inc.— the company owned by Archibald Po, who linked the First Gentleman to the scandal. The lawmaker said Po “concealed" the fact that Lionair executed a contract of lease with LTA Inc., in March 2004. Sia was supposedly one of the signatories in the document. However, Sia claimed that he was made to sign the signature page of a blank document on the instruction of Mike. Lawyer Lope Velasco, who notarized the alleged lease agreement, admitted that he did not see the two parties supposedly involved in the deal. Velasco likewise said he does not know the two parties personally. "Hanggang ngayon di ko po sila kilala," he said, adding that an alleged representative of Po just brought him the document. Meanwhile, Sia, Lionair marketing officer Edith Solano-Juguan, and pilot Domingo Lazo asked to be given immunity from suit, noting that Mike Arroyo had filed perjury charges against Po. The Senate was ongoing as of posting time. - GMA News