Danny Chan

Lawmakers have dismissed allegations from an opposition senator that the husband of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo illegally embezzled at least P270 million in campaign contributions. The House’s deputy speaker, Raul Gonzalez, cited insufficient evidence in rejecting Senator Panfilo Lacson’s allegations against the First Gentleman.

In a privilege speech on Aug 18, Mr Lacson asserted that Jose Miguel Arroyo deposited the stolen funds intended for his wife’s 1998 vice-presidential campaign into fictitious accounts bearing the name Jose Pidal.

But in the Sept 3 ruling, Mr Gonzalez said the senate lacked the authority to compel banks to disclose account information. He stated that a witness’s recant of earlier testimony left Mr Lacson without compelling evidence in his case against Mr Arroyo. He further pointed out that Mr Arroyo’s brother later claimed ownership of the account.

Senator Lacson’s allegations centered on an affidavit filed by Eugenio Mahusay Jr, Mr Arroyo’s former driver and messenger. The affidavit alleges Mr Mahusay deposited and withdrew millions of pesos registered under the Lualhati Foundation, Victoria Toh, Thomas Toh and Kelvin Toh, all acquaintances of the First Gentleman. He further avers that two more accounts were registered under the name Jose Pidal, an alleged alias for Mr Arroyo

Mr Mahusay’s three-page affidavit also states that he deposited into the accounts millions of pesos brought by several visitors to Mr Arroyo’s office in the Makati business district, including Efrain Genuino, the head of the government’s casino company and Pantaloon Alvarez, a former transportation and communication secretary.

“If one would sum up the amount of money that went through my hands being the messenger and the one tasked with going to the bank, this would amount to one billion pesos or even more until I left my job in March 2002,” the affidavit stated.

At a press conference on Aug. 25, Mr Mahusay said he personally witnessed Mr Arroyo sign the name Jose Pidal on several bank accounts. The withdrawals and deposits ranged between P500,000 to P5 million, Mr Mahusay added, and he said he left after being accused of stealing money and a cell phone.

Jesus Santos, the First Gentleman’s attorney, had earlier said the charges were outright fabrications or perhaps transactions unbeknownst to the brothers. He moreover refuted claims that a P1.35-million check from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office was placed into any Jose Pidal accounts. Mr Santos added his client denied any knowledge of the accounts mentioned by Mr Lacson. Lawyers for Mr Toh, Ms Toh and Mr Tan likewise denied the existence of such accounts and in turn filed a libel suit against the senator.

The saga took a bizarre turn after Mr Mahusay’s family claimed the senator was detaining his witness in a Tagaytay City hotel room. Member of Mr Mahusay’s family, accompanied by Michael Defensor, the housing secretary, extracted Mr Mahusay from the hotel on Aug 26. Jojo Mahusay, a police officer and the witness’s brother, said the operation proceeded without bloodshed because the men guarding the room believed he was sent by Mr Lacson to fetch the witness.

Mr Lacson said Mr Mahusay was “abducted” to suppress the truth on the affair after he had volunteered to divulge his information to the senator.

“No need to rescue [Mr Mahusay] because he was not being held against his will. He voluntarily went to our office,” Mr Lacson said. He further accused Malacañang of orchestrating the abduction and added that a second unnamed employee of Mr Arroyo was similarly abducted but did not elaborate.

Copyright ©2002 Danny Chan. About the author