Mike A not yet off the hook on Pidal controversy

First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo is not yet off the hook on the accusations of money laundering contrary to what his lawyer is claiming, the camp of opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.

"Definitely, Mr. Arroyo has not been exonerated. The banks, which certified that there are no existing Jose Pidal accounts, cannot exonerate him," said Lacson’s political adviser and spokesman Lito Banayo.

Banayo said the First Gentleman’s lawyer should not tell the public that his client has already been absolved in the controversy on the basis of the banks’ certifications. "That claim is untrue and grossly inaccurate," he stressed.

Banayo pointed out that BPI Family Savings Bank and UnionBank have admitted that they had held funds under the name of Jose Pidal but that these accounts have already been closed.

He pointed out that the First Gentleman’s younger brother Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo has himself admitted he was the Jose Pidal who opened the accounts.

"Of course, we don’t believe Iggy is Jose Pidal. The real Jose Pidal is Mike Arroyo," Banayo said.

Banayo said three Senate committees looking into the controversy are trying to unravel the mystery behind Jose Pidal.

The Senate panels want to go into the details of the transactions in the Pidal accounts in BPI Family Savings Bank and UnionBank to determine if funds held in such accounts belonged to Iggy Arroyo or the President’s husband, he added.

Banayo challenged the Arroyo brothers to waive their right to the secrecy of such deposits and allow the two banks to reveal the details of such accounts to settle the Jose Pidal issue once and for all.

"If it is true that they have nothing to hide, then they should not be afraid of those accounts being revealed in detail," he said.

Banayo said the banks’ certifications were misleading since they did not state the fact that there were Jose Pidal accounts in BPI Family Bank and UnionBank as admitted by Iggy Arroyo.

"Even Jose Pidal’s messenger, Eugenio ‘Udong’ Mahusay Jr., in his affidavit of recantation, affirmed that the Pidal account in UnionBank existed and that he deposited in and withdrew millions from that account," Banayo added.

Appearing before the Senate on Sept. 8, officials of BPI Family Bank and UnionBank had refused to answer questions surrounding the Pidal accounts by repeatedly invoking the Bank Secrecy Law.

The bank officials were not also able to answer questions on who helped Jose Pidal open his accounts, prompting Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, chairman of the Senate committee on banks to sarcastically comment the bank officials would even refuse to answer questions on the "color of the toilet paper they were using."

Osmeña requested the three Senate probe panels would rule on the extent bank officials can invoke the Bank Secrecy Law in future hearings, along with the issue on Iggy Arroyo’s repeatedly invoking his "right to privacy."

Lacson has accused the First Gentleman of maintaining bank accounts under the name Jose Pidal for his money laundering activities.

The hearings on the Jose Pidal accounts were suspended for a month-long recess of Congress with some of the lawmakers, including Lacson, either on vacation or out of the country.

Administration senators called on Lacson to present more solid proof to back up his claims to sustain the investigation.

Osmeña yesterday said Lacson is now armed with more ammunition to sustain his accusations against Mr. Arroyo. Lacson is expected to arrive tomorrow.

Osmeña claimed Lacson will present his "bombshell" in the next hearing scheduled Oct. 6 by the joint committees, led by the Blue Ribbon committee chaired by Sen. Joker Arroyo.

"There are indications that he (Lacson) has a lot of pieces of evidence which he will present on the next hearing," he said.

Contrary to what Senator Arroyo was saying, Osmeña pointed out that Lacson has submitted "enough evidence" for the Blue Ribbon and other concerned committees to begin with.

"He has already given us enough evidence, that is why we are conducting these hearings. We have enough to begin with," Osmeña said. — With Jose Rodel Clapano