MANILA: Witness - former First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo involved in chopper scam.

MANILA (Updated 10:53 a.m.) -- A businessman engaged in aircraft charter and sale of helicopters on Tuesday named former First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo as the previous owner of choppers sold to the Philippine National Police (PNP).

During a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the purchase of “brand new” used choppers by the PNP, Lion Air Inc. president Archibald Po, the supplier of the questioned choppers, said he personally met with Arroyo at his office in Makati in 2003.

Po, in his affidavit, said Arroyo inquired about choppers in 2003 but all have been loaned by the late Fernando Poe Jr. who was running for president against his wife, former President and now Pampanga Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

He added he suggested that Arroyo buy his own choppers instead and Arroyo agreed to purchase the five Robinson R44 Raven.

He said the five purchased helicopters by Arroyo were all registered under Asian Spirit.

Po also said that in 2006, Arroyo asked him to sell his helicopters at $350K each. Arroyo bought the five choppers for only $475K.

“Sometime in 2006, FG told me that he was selling the helicopters at US Do11ar 350,000.00 each. I commented that the price is on the high side for pre-owned helicopters, but FG said that was the price he was willing to sell the helicopters.” Po said.

Arroyo told Lion Air to prepare a proposal for the Manila Aerospace Products Trading (Maptra) in 2009, he said.

In November 2009, Lion Air sold the two pre-owned helicopters to Maptra.

It was Maptra that sold the choppers to the Philippine National Police.

Payments were delivered to Arroyo, Po claimed.

“On l6 April 2010, Maptra paid us in full. I then delivered and turned over the full payment of Maptra to FG,” he said.

Maptra owner Hilario de Vera, for his part, said “the PNP-Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) secretariat had asked him to sign supply contract for choppers. The supply contract indicated the choppers were brand new.”

De Vera questioned why the choppers were declared as brand new, but still, he signed the contract.

He added Po gave him the assurance to deliver second-hand choppers following the order from First Gentleman Arroyo.

De Vera said he confronted Po for the misdeclaration, but Po assured that no one will question the deal.

“Po had assured me the PNP had orders from Mike Arroyo to accept the choppers I will deliver,” he added.

He also said that the two choppers delivered to PNP had different serial numbers than those in his proposal to PNP.

Senator Panfilo Lacson and Senator Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, earlier filed a resolution to hold an inquiry on a purchase in 2009 of three Robinson Raven helicopters for the PNP’s Special Action Force.

They said that according to flight records, two of the helicopters had flown for around two years before the PNP bought them.

Earlier, Lacson in a press statement said, “Initial findings would indicate that the previous and original owners of the pre-owned, yet sold as brand-new, light police operational helicopters are the Arroyos.”

Maptra and the PNP may have entered into an anomalous contract that was “manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to the government,” the senators added.

Source:  http://www.sunstar.com.ph