GMA allies vow to be impartial in Cayetano case

Congressmen-allies of President Arroyo and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo promised yesterday to be impartial in the expulsion case of Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano.

They made the promise in reaction to Cayetano’s statement that Arroyo loyalists in the House were asked to work for his expulsion.

In a joint statement, Representatives Douglas Cagas of Davao del Sur and Edwin Uy of Isabela said the case against the Taguig-Pateros congressman would be decided based on the facts.

"It will be the facts of the complaints filed against him by the Arroyos that will determine his fate before the ethics committee. Committee members will decide based on the substance of the complaints, and not on their political affiliation," they said.

The complainants are the President’s husband; the Arroyos’ eldest son Juan Miguel, a Pampanga representative, and youngest son Diosdado; and Mr. Arroyo’s congressman-brother Jose Ignacio of Negros Occidental.

The complaints arose from Cayetano’s statement during the impeachment proceedings last August that the First Family kept "hundreds of millions of dollars" in HypoVereinsbank in Munich, Germany.

The Arroyos denied they had a German bank account. The First Gentleman, accompanied by his spokesman and the President’s election lawyer, flew to Germany and obtained certifications from the Munich bank that the First Family did not keep money there.

Last Tuesday, the committee voted 33-10 to give due course to the Arroyos’ complaints. Voting was strictly along party lines.

While promising to be impartial, Cagas and Uy nevertheless reminded Cayetano that it was he who got himself into trouble with the First Family.

"In the absence of solid proof from Representative Cayetano that the Arroyos maintain millions of dollars in secret bank accounts in Germany, members of the First Family were compelled to complain about what they believe was improper conduct, disorderly behavior and unparliamentary conduct of Representative Cayetano," Cagas said.

Uy said the "false and malicious accusations" Cayetano made against the First Family "were debunked by facts."

He said the bank certifications prove that the accounts did not exist.

"He should rectify this by humbly apologizing before it is too late and the sincerity of his apology will determine whether or not the Arroyos will accept it," he added. — Jess Diaz