Mikey defers US trip to face jueteng raps

Embattled presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo is no longer leaving town in the wake of accusations he received P600,000 monthly in jueteng payola.

In a statement yesterday, he said a "self-confessed jueteng lord’s testimony before the Senate," obviously referring to Wilfredo "Boy" Mayor, prompted him to "postpone" his trip to the United States.

He said he would instead send his father-in-law, Herman Montenegro, to give a speech before Filipino-American groups in the US.

"I am extending my deepest apologies to our kababayans. I pray that they understand the need for us to directly address the false charges hurled against me in the Senate," he said.

Rep. Arroyo’s US trip had been approved by Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. from June 1 to 11.

Until Monday, when Mayor testified before the Senate, Arroyo had been insistent on leaving for the US speaking engagement.

The President’s son did not say whether his father-in-law would pay his own travel expenses, nor did he say when he himself would undertake the trip.

At the same time, he challenged Mayor to accuse him outside the Senate halls by filing the appropriate charges against him.

"This is nothing but black propaganda of the most sordid kind. We have never been involved in illegal activities like jueteng, and we remain solidly against the legalization of jueteng, for that matter," he said.

Arroyo said three of his friends — Leo Katigbak of La Vista, Quezon City and Rene Maglanque and Arthur Nagit, both of Pampanga — are also considering legal action against Mayor.

The self-confessed jueteng operator was brought forth as a witness by Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who is waging a war against both legal and illegal gambling.

Mayor had claimed that Katigbak, Maglanque and Nagit collected the monthly jueteng payments for Rep. Arroyo.

In a statement released through Arroyo’s office, Maglanque and Katigbak said Mayor cannot be granted immunity and protection while he spreads "lies."

"When the names of innocents are smeared before millions, they are entitled to seek justice to punish the guilty," they said.

Stockbroker Katigbak and Maglanque, a civil engineer, both rushed to the Batasan after learning that Mayor had alleged they met with him to discuss jueteng payoffs for Rep. Arroyo at the Rembrandt Hotel.

They said they were informed by friends about Mayor’s testimony before the Senate. The congressman then urged them to meet reporters at the Batasan to deny the allegations and clear their names.

Maglanque, 39, a former Pampanga provincial board member, met Arroyo through politics, while Katigbak, 33, grew up as a neighbor of Arroyo in La Vista.

"The only reason we have been dragged into this is to get at the congressman. But in the process, our reputations have been trampled upon," said Katigbak.

Both Arroyo friends denied ever meeting Mayor for any reason. Likewise, they said the alleged Rembrandt Hotel meeting never took place.

The congressman’s mother, President Arroyo remained unperturbed by the testimony of Mayor even as Malacañang cautioned the public yesterday against swallowing the statements of the whistleblower on the extent of Rep. Arroyo’s involvement in jueteng.

In a press briefing, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Mayor had not presented any evidence or proof to support his allegations and that he is obviously being manipulated by the opposition.

"The people should be wary and be very discriminating. We should distinguish what are mere allegations and what is true, what is just speculation and what is based on evidence," Bunye said.

"While the President considers these allegations as serious and wants them investigated, she is not distracted from performing her day-to-day tasks and implementing her programs."

At the Senate, Sen. Manuel Villar cited inter-parliamentary courtesy in saying he would not be inclined to invite Arroyo or any other congressman implicated in the jueteng controversy to the committee hearings.

"I will not invite anybody from the Congress because theirs is an independent body and I don’t have plans to invite any congressman," said Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs, which is conducting the simultaneous inquiry along with the committee on games and amusement chaired by Sen. Lito Lapid.

Hearsay ?

In a related development, the office of Albay Rep. Carlos Imperial denied yesterday Mayor’s accusation that the congressman received jueteng money.

Administration lawmakers meanwhile said Mayor would not be covered by immunity from the anti-illegal gambling law despite coming forward, and instead could be prosecuted as a self-confessed jueteng lord and perjurer if the persons he accused are found to be innocent in the formal inquiry.

Lakas-CMD Reps. Marcelino Libanan (Eastern Samar) and Edwin Uy (Isabela) stressed this as they called on the Department of Justice to summon Mayor and ask him to present his testimony formally before prosecutors so the damaging allegations he made can be investigated.

Libanan and Uy, both lawyers, said the Senate hearings are not the proper venue for the allegations since these should be given due process by the courts.

Libanan said as it stands, there is no opportunity for those implicated to defend themselves, except via the media. But even if Mayor were to submit himself to the DOJ, his claims would not suffice to file cases against those he accused because his testimony was mere hearsay.

Other pro-administration lawmakers also assailed Mayor’s testimony as hearsay while questioning his motives. They said reports had linked Mayor to the opposition and attempts to embarrass the Arroyo administration.

House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles and Bacolod City Rep. Monico Puentevella said the Senate hearings made it clear that Mayor’s allegations against Arroyo are hearsay, especially since associates of the Pampanga congressman whom he implicated have come forward to dispute his assertions.

The lawmakers lamented that the Senate hearings were being used to give credence to a self-confessed jueteng lord who lacks credibility in his own province, as proven by his electoral defeat.

For his part, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada dared Mikey Arroyo to testify and clear his name before the Senate inquiry into the jueteng scandal.

Estrada said that Arroyo should follow his example and present himself before the Senate inquiry as the senator did in 2000 when his father, then President Joseph Estrada, was implicated in jueteng payoffs.

Sen. Estrada admitted it would be difficult to prove involvement in jueteng even if Mayor is a credible witness.

"No evidence could really be presented in jueteng. When we (Estradas) were charged, did they have any evidence? No. Because who in his right mind would issue a receipt for jueteng?" he said in Filipino.

On the other hand, Sen. Panfilo Lacson has called on Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to resign as head of Task Force Jueteng because of his constant threats against potential witnesses at the Senate hearing.

Lacson said the recent statements of Gonzalez run contrary to his job as task force head, because instead of encouraging witnesses to come out and testify, he is threatening them with lawsuits. — With Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy, Christina Mendez