Palace: Plunder raps vs Mike Arroyo to boost govt push for accountability

The plunder complaint lodged against former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and 17 others stemming from the P105-million helicopters deal with the Philippine National Police (PNP) in 2009 should boost the administration’s push for accountability, Malacañang said over the weekend. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Palace expects the wheels of justice to grind accordingly, now that the complaint has been lodged before the Office of the Ombudsman. “We hope this will strengthen our drive for accountability. We have seen during the investigation that there were questions they [those accused] could not answer, and we have seen instances where their replies were contradictory," Valte said on government-run dzRB radio. In its complaint Friday, the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said the PNP’s procurement of two Robinson R44 Raven 1 helicopters from the Manila Aerospace Trading Corporation (MAPTRA) in 2009 was anomalous. Also named in the charge sheet were Lionair president Archibald Po, Lionair general manager Renato Sia, MAPTRA president Hilario de Vera, former Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, ex-PNP chief Jesus Verzosa, former PNP deputy chief for operations Jefferson Soriano, former PNP comptroller Romeo Hilomen, former PNP logistics director Luizo Ticman, and former research division head Ronald Roderos. The following active PNP officials were also named as respondents: Director Leocadio Santiago Jr., Director George Piano, Chief Superintendent Herold Ubalde, Chief Superintendent Ermilando Villafuerte, Superintendent Roman Loreto, Senior Superintendent Lurimer Detran, and Conrado Sumanga Jr. Charged for predicate crimes of violations of Articles 171 and 172 of the Revised Penal Code, The Government Procurement Act and The Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act were Chief Superintendent Luis Saligumba, Senior Superintendent Job Nolan Antonio, Senior Superintendent Edgar Pataan, and PNP inspection team members Senior Superintendent Crisostomo Garcia, Senior Superintendent Claudo Gaspar, Chief Inspector Maria Josefina Vidal, retired Superintendent Larry Balamaceda, and procurement head division head Superintendent Henry Duque. Valte said there was some misrepresentation on the status of the goods that were procured. “Dapat may managot... Umaasa kami na gumulong ang hustisya sa usaping ito (Someone should be held accountable)," she said. — LBG, GMA News