Choppers in PNP scam left unused vs crime

The stiff competition among drug companies shows in their ads. For one, foreign formulations denigrate local herbal cures as useless, dirty leaves. This raises eyebrows of doctors, scholars, and health officials. For, long tested and so promoted as efficacious by the health department are ten indigenous medicines.

These, according to the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC), are: akapulko (stomach fungicide), ampalaya (bitter melon), bawang (garlic), bayabas (guava), lagundi (chaste tree), niyog-niyogan (honeysuckle), pansit-pansitan (peperomia), sambong (Blumea balsamifera), tsaang-gubat (wild tea), and yerba buena (peppermint).

Hundreds of other herbs are deemed curative. The PITACH list draws from local and western research. As well, from history. As far back as the 16th to 17th centuries, Spanish friars catalogued Philippine medicinal plants. Most notable was Fr. Fernando de Sta. Maria’s Manual de Medicinas Caseras, published in 1763. Works by Fr. Manuel Blanco (Flora de Filipinas) and Fr. Blas dela Madre de Dios were used in medical and pharmacy schools then. Later, in 1892, came Dr. T.H. Pardo de Tavera’s comprehensive Plantas Medicinales de Filipinas.

Herbal makers group under the Chamber of Herbal Industries of the Philippines Inc. Those whose products are not among PITAHC’s ten curatives call theirs “health supplements.” They are negotiating with the Food and Drug Administration for an inoffensive relabeling and Filipino translation of the tag, “No approved therapeutic claim.”

Initially the FDA had wanted: “Important notice: This product is not medicine and is not to be used for treating diseases.” Or: “Mahalagang paalala: Ang (name of product) ay hindi gamot at hindi dapat gamiting panggamot ng anomang uri ng sakit.”

CHIPI’s counterproposal: “This product is a supplement to doctors’ prescribed medication.” In Filipino: “Ito ay food supplement, at hindi pampalit ng gamot sa reseta ng doktor.”

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Former first gentleman Mike Arroyo has been indicted for selling two used helicopters as brand new to the Philippine National Police. Haled to court with him for graft were ex-PNP chief Jesus Verzosa and 19 high officers. Eleven of the officers, still in service, have been sacked, their retirement pay forfeited. Prosecutors are lining up as prime witness businessman Archibald Po, who disclosed the anomaly to the Senate last year.

All the right things are being done about that 2010 chopper scam. All, except one. The choppers, though airworthy, are not being used in anti-crime drives for which they were bought. As evidence of crime, they are tied up in legal red tape and grounded. In short, wasting away.

The issue with the aircraft is graft, not flyability. Arroyo, being presidential spouse, was barred from government contracting. Still he allegedly used a front company to sell the used whirlybirds to the PNP. Ineligible, that firm was unaccredited as PNP supplier. Undercapitalized, it was barred by state procurement laws from undertaking a contract ten times its value. Two public biddings were made to flop, to expedite a negotiated sale. Purchase specs were altered to tailor-fit the used units. Official certificates were falsified. The PNP paid $1.4 million for two used choppers passed off as new. Arroyo supposedly got $700,000 as share, more than what he bought them for in 2003.

All the while, the Robinson-brand aircraft were in good state. Though heavily used in the 2004 presidential campaign, Po’s LionAir Inc. properly had maintained them as exclusive Philippine distributor. Engines, rotor blades and control panels regularly were inspected; parts were replaced upon attaining specified flight hours. Aviation authorities and pilots confirmed the upkeep. Arroyo, his family members, and close friends kept flying in them all these years.

Arroyo had bought five identical Robinson four-seater models in 2004. One crashed in the hands of a political ally during the 2007 election campaign. While the two sold to the PNP lie idle in its Manila airport hangar, the last two remain with LionAir across the runway. Arroyo, in legal defense, disavows ownership of the choppers. Po in turn waves receipts of Arroyo’s 2004 purchase and subsequent repairs. He is offering to sign away to the government the two aircraft remaining in his hangar.

“If they’re mine, I’d fight tooth and nail for them,” Po says. “But they’re not mine, and Mr. Arroyo is saying they’re not his either. If so, I can execute a waiver in favor of the government.” That way it can come out ahead this time, with four choppers instead of only two, at less than the prevailing second-hand market price.

What to do with the choppers? Plenty. In North American metropolises, police helicopters untangle traffic and chase crime getaway vehicles. In South America and Eastern Europe they curb bank heists. In Palawan province in the 1990s two were used to spot illegal loggers and dynamite fishers. There’s also rescue, resupply, reconnaissance and other uses. The government just has to untie the legal restraints — and fast. For, choppers completely must be overhauled after 2,200 flight hours or 12 years, whichever comes first. An agency will have to bankroll that work by 2015, to keep them airworthy — for government service.

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