Mahusay’s explosive sworn affidavit

First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo sipped red wine deep into the night with his secretary whenever the President was out of town, gave the woman red roses on Valentine’s Day, and once took her with him on a helicopter ride.

And he accepted "donations" to a foundation from Jeffrey Cheng of the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco), builder of the controversial Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.

These stories are contained in an explosive sworn affidavit of Eugenio Mahusay Jr., the First Gentleman’s godson and former personal messenger, which the staff of opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson released yesterday. The sworn statement was executed in Filipino last July 21 before notary public Julie Ann Dumlao.

Lacson said he expected Mahusay, his principal witness, to recant his statement. Even then, he said the documents Mahusay has given him and other evidence in his possession are enough to pin down Mr. Arroyo on corruption and money laundering charges.

In his affidavit, Mahusay said among the odd jobs he did for Mr. Arroyo was to cook his favorite pritong galunggong and pinakbet.

"Ako rin po ang tagabili ng bulaklak na rosas para kay Victoria Toh sa tuwing sasapit ang araw ng mga puso… nagsisilbi rin po ako ng red wine kina Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo at Victoria Toh sa silid ni Atty. Arroyo sa opisina hanggang alas diyes ng gabi lalo na kung wala si Presidente Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at may biyahe sa probinsya," he said.

He said Mr. Arroyo and Toh once brought him along in their sightseeing over Tagaytay City on board a yellow helicopter that he knew belongs to the First Gentleman.

The helicopter’s maintenance crew named Nestor and Weng Salud can attest to this, he said.

"Ako rin po ang taga-masahe ni Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo kung wala si Ernesto Beltran, o mas kilala bilang Tiyana," he added.

As for the millions he handled for the President’s husband, Mahusay said most of the money went to Mr. Arroyo’s Jose Pidal account and the Arroyo couple’s Lualhati Foundation, and he also deposited in and withdrew from the accounts of Victoria Toh, her brother Thomas and her brother-in-law Kelvin Tan.

Lacson has accused the presidential husband of hiding illegal funds using the UnionBank, International Exchange Bank and BPI-Family Bank accounts of Pidal, the Tohs and Tan.

Mahusay said the checks he deposited in the Pidal and Lualhati Foundation accounts included those that came from the Arroyo couple’s friends and business associates "like Honeyboy Palanca, Bob Go Tong, Amable Aguiluz, Dante Soriquez (Secretary of Public Works and Highways), George Ty, Ramon Jacinto, and many others."

Cash in the millions delivered to the First Gentleman came from Benjamin Chua of La Tondeña, Ephraim Genuino of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Kshore Hemlani, a rice trader, Ching Vargas of the Office of the President, former transportation and communications secretary Pantaleon Alvarez, and Cheng of Piatco, he said.

But he claimed that the biggest amounts were delivered by Genuino. Twice a week, Genuino’s confidant G. Ran Cordeta delivers cash to Mr. Arroyo, Mahusay said.

He said some checks from Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez also found their way in the Pidal and Lualhati Foundation accounts.

He said at the back of the checks he encashed is his signature, showing that he was the one who went to the bank and converted the checks to cash for Mr. Arroyo.

Former UnionBank (Perea branch) manager Nestor Pineda can support his assertion, he added.

Pineda is one of 13 witnesses that the Senate invited to its initial hearing on Tuesday on Lacson’s charges against the First Gentleman. It was Lacson who submitted the list, which did not include Mahusay and another still-unnamed witness.

But yesterday, Lacson included Mahusay in the list of witnesses to be heard on Tuesday.

"Let us see if he will tell the truth or tell us lies," said the opposition senator.

In his affidavit, Mahusay also said in the second week of July 2001, Mr. Arroyo asked him to withdraw the equivalent of $10,000 from the Pidal account and convert it into US dollars.

He said he later saw his former boss hand the money in a brown envelope to former Armed Forces intelligence chief Victor Corpus and heard that it was for gathering information against Lacson.

Also last night, Lacson chided President Arroyo for her "hypocritical" statement that she won’t lift a finger to help her embattled husband.

"That statement does not hold water in the face of the fact that she sent her housing secretary, spokesman, helicopters, and presidential guards to fetch the witness," he said.

He said the President is also using members of the Presidential Security Group to spy on her husband’s employees at the LTA Building in Makati.

"Over the weekend, presidential guards picked up a Rommel Javier, Arroyo’s own employee whom they wrongly suspected to be giving me information," he said.

He revealed that scores of informants have given him information and documents following his Incredible Hulk expose’.

Lacson warned the First Gentleman and his defenders "not to play it dirty and force me to go down to that level."

"As of now, I’m trying not to so that we don’t lose sight of the main issue, which is corruption at the highest level of the government," he said.