Iggy Arroyo: I’m not Mike’s fall guy

Businessman Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo denied he was forced to be the fall guy in the Jose Pidal controversy, saying his elder brother, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, could not order him around.

"In fact I can tell you that my brother cannot tell me what to do. I am my own man," Iggy Arroyo said in an interview with GMA-7 late Monday to dispel Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s claim that he admitted owning the Jose Pidal bank accounts "to protect the presidential spouse."

Accompanied by his lawyer, the younger Arroyo presented himself to the media Monday and said he opened multimillion-peso accounts in UnionBank of the Philippines and the BPI Family Bank under the alias "Jose Pidal" for "security reasons."

Responding to Lacson’s challenge, the First Gentleman’s brother vowed to issue a special power of attorney to Senate President Franklin Drilon to "withdraw any funds contained in the accounts" for donation to Senate employees.

Drilon said he was willing to distribute the money that would be found deposited in the account provided "that (Iggy Arroyo) is allowing the distribution of the money in the Jose Pidal accounts to the employees of the Senate."

However, Drilon said Iggy Arroyo’s signature in the special power of attorney should first be scrutinized by experts to determine whether the man who signed the authorization is the same man whose signature appears in the Jose Pidal accounts.

"As Iggy Arroyo’s signature is confirmed and that he is Jose Pidal and the bank eventually releases the money, I will get the money and I will follow his order to distribute them to the employees of the Senate," Drilon said.

But while insisting that he had closed the Jose Pidal accounts in 2001, the businessman dared Lacson to himself donate the P260 million which the opposition senator claimed is deposited in the accounts.

The younger Arroyo said his owning up to the Jose Pidal account was a "purely voluntary act."

"I’ve never been a fall guy for anyone. I have my own reputation to protect. Hinding hindi ako magbabasta-basta lang (I will never just do things whimsically)," he said.

He first admitted that he was Jose Pidal last Thursday but with his face not shown and his voice altered to protect his privacy.

He signed the name Jose Pidal several times on camera and said he would come out in the open before the Senate.

The younger Arroyo went to the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory early Monday to submit his specimen signatures for comparison with the Jose Pidal signatures on the checks Lacson claimed to have been signed by the First Gentleman.

The PNP Crime Lab examination report will not be known until Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) called for an immediate end to the investigation into the alleged money laundering activities of the First Gentleman.

"The Senate should stop the hearing because it is only depressing the people and the economy as well. If there is a case against the First Gentleman, they should bring it to the court," said ECOP president Donald Dee.

Dee pointed out that the legislators are focusing much of their time for the investigation into the alleged ill-gotten wealth of Mr. Arroyo instead of addressing more pressing problems affecting the country

At the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), chairwoman Alicia Rita Arroyo refused to comment on the Jose Pidal controversy involving her husband Iggy Arroyo but assured the public that he was not the type who would be involved in dubious transactions.

In a statement issued yesterday, the PSE chairwoman said: "Although I have no knowledge of my husband’s dealings, I know him so well as to vouch for his character and I know that he is a person who will not be involved in any illegal or unethical dealings."

"My husband is more than capable (of defending) himself and I am confident that in the end, he will come out clean," she said.

"The Pidal issue is a matter that only my husband is in a position to shed light on, as I have no personal knowledge whatsoever regarding the transactions and accounts in question," the PSE chairwoman said.

She also stressed that her husband has no interest and is not privy to "my dealings nor the responsibilities and duties I conduct in my official capacity as chairperson of the PSE."

Although she admitted that her husband belongs to a family which owns extensive land and considerable assets here and abroad, sghe said she is not privy to the extent or the value of these holdings or any transaction that he conducts. — With Jose Rodel Clapano, Mayen Jaymalin, Zinnia dela Peña