MANILA, Philippines - The red-plate vehicle registered under the name of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) and found loaded with nine kilos of shabu when seized from an alleged American drug dealer was lent to a staff of Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, the Napocor said yesterday.
The Napocor said that for the last two years it had been trying to recover the Mitsubishi Pajero (SEP-825) from lawyer Antonio Mariano Almeda, then chief of staff of Arroyo.
The STAR tried but failed to get the side of Arroyo and Almeda on the matter.
The Napocor said official documents showed that Almeda asked the agency in April 2008 to assign an SUV for him, saying he had been tasked by the House committee on energy, then chaired by Arroyo, to conduct an ocular inspection of all of Napocor’s decommissioned power plants in Luzon and in some parts of Eastern Visayas.
The Napocor granted Almeda’s request and temporarily assigned the Pajero to him. However, the lawyer failed to return the vehicle, and in deference to Arroyo, the Napocor did not insist at the time on recalling the vehicle.
Two years later, the Napocor tried to recall the Pajero by writing to Arroyo’s office in June 2010, and again in August 2010. They never got any reply for both requests.
– Cecille Suerte Felipe
In March 2011, the Napocor wrote Arroyo’s office for the third time to follow up its earlier requests for the return of the vehicle.
When the last letter was ignored again, the Napocor filed a formal complaint with the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group on May 6, 2011 in an attempt to recall the vehicle.