Cayetano: I’m not saying sorry to Arroyos

House Deputy Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano said yesterday he is not about to apologize to President Arroyo and her husband for claiming that the First Family was keeping "hundreds of millions of dollars" in a German bank.

"Madam President, Atty. Mike Arroyo, I am not sorry! It is not because I cannot humble myself if I made a mistake, but because the administration refused to allow us to present evidence in the committee on justice (during the impeachment proceedings)," he said in a privilege speech.

He said the First Couple also refused to sign a waiver giving up their right to secrecy over any bank account that they may have abroad.

He reiterated his call for the President and her husband to tell their House allies to reopen the impeachment proceedings "to allow the impeachment team and our lawyers to present evidence in either the committee on justice or in the Senate or both."

Mrs. Arroyo and the First Gentleman have denied their family has an account in HypoVereinsbank in Munich, Germany. Her husband, accompanied by two lawyers, went to Munich to obtain certifications that they do not have deposits there.

Cayetano said the bank certifications might not be correct since the bank account number has 23 digits instead of 22 as he had mentioned during the justice committee proceedings.

He said in Europe, one could maintain an "international bank account" whose length depends on where the account is opened.

"The French and Italians use 27 digits, Spain uses 24, Austria 20, the Danish use 18, and the Germans use 22 digits," he added.

He also asked: "Why were they (the President’s husband and his companions) entertained? Why did the bank accommodate them on a holiday? Why the belated certification to include the President?"

"This is for the First Gentleman to answer. The point is more questions were raised than answers, when by simply signing the waiver, we could produce the information needed for a conclusive finding," he said.

In the course of questioning Cayetano, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte, a staunch ally of the Arroyos, said the deputy minority leader could not prove that the First Family was keeping hundreds of millions of dollars in a German bank.

"By imposing impossible conditions such as the reopening of the impeachment proceedings and the signing of a waiver (by the Arroyos) that would be applicable worldwide, the gentleman is really making excuses and wants to go on a fishing expedition," he said.

He added that if Cayetano really has proof to support his claim, he should have presented it in public to controvert the bank certifications that the First Gentleman had obtained from Germany.