by Jaime Pilapil, Manila Times - Chopper deal reeks of graft, Senate tells DOJ
SENATORS urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to file a plunder case against 14 police officials, including retired Director General Jesus Verzosa of the Philippine National Police (PNP), in connection with the purchase of two second-hand helicopters in 2009.
Sen. Teofisto Guingona 3rd, the chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, noted that the two used choppers at P31 million each cost the government P62 million, which exceeds the P50-million threshold for a case to constitute plunder.
“If I were these police officials, they should tell us in the next hearing who really instructed them to approve the purchase of the pre-owned helicopters. That’s all we want, then we can talk if they could save their faces from this case,” Guingona said on Thursday.
Aside from Verzosa, to be included in the charge sheet of plunder are former Deputy Director
General Jefferson Soriano, Director Romeo Hilomen, former director for logistics George Piano, Director Ronald Roderos, former director of Special Action Force Leocadio Santiago, Director Luizo Ticman, Chief Supt. Benjamin Belarmino, Chief Supt. Herold Ubalde, Senior Supt. Job Nolan Antonio, Senior Supt. Edgar Paatan, Senior Supt. Luis Saligumba, Supt. Larry Balmaceda and Supt. Claudio Gaspar Jr.
Guingona said that officials of Manila Aerospace Trading Corporation (Maptra) led by Hilario de Vera will also be included in the plunder case.
The next blue ribbon hearing was scheduled for August 2.
Maptra sold three helicopters worth P104.985 million in 2009.
It turned out that two of them were second-hand choppers, as shown by fight records.
Worse, the two pre-owned choppers were used to transport members of the former First Family, namely Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo and his congressman-son Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, as shown also by flight records.
The records said the two used choppers were sold by Lion Air to Maptra, which was formed as a corporation only a few months before the sale transaction was closed and delivered.
Guingona said that the participation of the 14 police officials was traced from their membership in a negotiating team and the Bid and Awards Committee.
Verzosa was then the PNP chief and was the approving authority.
In last Thursday’s hearing, senators were trying to squeeze from the police officials information linking the former First Family to the controversy.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, a member of the blue ribbon committee, alleged that Mike Arroyo, the husband of the former President and now Rep. Gloria Arroyo of Pampanga, was the owner of the used choppers.
Also in last Thursday’s hearing, Gaspar admitted that the Bid and Awards Committee and the negotiating team were aware that two of the three choppers were pre-owned.
In fact, he said, he himself was the pilot of the Arroyos in several trips from Malacanang to a golf course in Pampanga.
Guingona advised the police officials to tell the truth as to the real owners of the used choppers.
It was not clear who owns Lion Air, which sold the pre-owned choppers to Maptra. There were reports that the choppers were owned by Gaspar himself but the police colonel denied it.
The sale involved one Robinson R44 Raven II and two Robinson R44 Raven I.
Raven II was brand-new and the two Raven 1 were second-hand, the very same choppers used by the former First Family as shown by documents presented to the Senate blue ribbon committee.
