THE Arroyos seem to be on a roll these days — in the hall of shame, that is.
First were the lavish dinners in Le Cirque in New York and Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Washington, DC which created quite a stir among their detractors, especially since the cost of dinners could’ve fed 180,000 hungry and impoverished Filipinos.
Then, there was the preposterous plan of acquiring a P1.2B presidential jet, which thankfully, was rechanneled to fund a more appropriate purpose – the expansion of the government’s anti-hunger and poverty alleviation programs.
And of course, who could forget the $329M NBN-ZTE scam that has haunted the First Couple since 2006? Last week, The Office of the Ombudsman has cleared the Arroyos from the scam but has left former elections chief Benjamin Abalos and Social Security System president Romulo Neri with blood on their hands.
According to the 144-page decision on the NBN-ZTE case, dated August 27, 2009: “The panel has not been presented with convincing and solid evidence directly or indirectly linking respondent Jose Miguel T. Arroyo in the project.”
And yet, even after this mysterious absolution, another anomaly surfaces – this time involving Pampanga Rep.Mikey Arroyo, the eldest among the three children of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo.
According to Vera Files, Mikey failed to declare his $1.32M beachfront property in Foster City, San Mateo County in California in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) for the last two years.
In their SALNs, it was noted that Mikey and brother Camarines Sur Rep. Dato Arroyo acquired properties in the United States, as well as local business interests, after winning seats in Congress. According to Vera Files, “Mikey did declare a residential house in the United States in his SALN for 2005 and 2006, during his first term as representative of Pampanga’s second district. But he did not report the location of his US property as required by filing guidelines.”
Mikey has vehemently refuted reports of the irregularities, “calling them malicious and a waste of his time.” He maintained that his family is financially capable of acquiring such properties.
“I have always been transparent with my SALN ever since I entered public office. I have declared everything I own there. It is self explanatory,” he said in a statement.
“With regards to the San Francisco Bay house, it is registered under beach Way Park LLC in which I am a shareholder and which I declared in my SALN. And this fact was even attested to by the writer or the writers of the story,” Mikey further said.
“The three Arroyos in Congress – Mikey, his brother Diosdado “Dato” Arroyo of Camarines Sur, and his uncle Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo of Negros Oriental – are among the 30 richest House members, according to their 2008 SALN,” Vera Files also reported.
And the apple does not fall far from the tree. Weeks ago, Pres. Arroyo had to justify the more than significant increase of her SALN – from P66.8 million in 2001 to P143.54 million in 2008.
Eluding accusations of graft and corruption seems to have become a common fare for the Arroyos. The successive exposés of their questionable wealth leaves so much room for doubt. And while they are still able to dodge these allegations and keep their riches intact, thanks to the predilection of their strategic allies in the government, they are left wanting on what’s most invaluable — the Filipino people’s trust and confidence. (AJPress)
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( Published on September 2, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A6 )