Senators want Mikey charged

MANILA, Philippines - Senators suggested yesterday that charges be filed against Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo for failing to declare the sources of the funds he used to buy a house in the United States.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said that Congressman Arroyo, eldest son of President Arroyo, must be charged before the Office of the Ombudsman so there would be a proper investigation on how he acquired wealth and was able to buy a house in Foster City, California, which is currently registered under his wife’s name.

Lacson said it should not only be Arroyo who must be investigated but the other members of the First Family because of their increasing wealth.

Sen. Francis Escudero said a “fish could be caught through its own mouth” and that the statements of Arroyo were incriminating enough.

“This makes it unexplained wealth in violation of the law, which could subject the property to forfeiture proceedings in favor of the government,” Escudero said.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan said Rep. Arroyo had dared critics to file charges against him in court, which should be done.

Pangilinan said it could happen in the next administration where all the charges against the First Family could be filed before the proper courts.

Arroyo has failed to declare to the Commission on Elections the contributions that he said he received when he ran for Congress in 2004 and 2007.

Arroyo said on national television that campaign contributions and wedding gifts were part of the reason his declared net worth ballooned from P5.7 million in 2001 to P74.4 million in 2004 and then to P99.2 million last year.

Arroyo wed Angela Arroyo Montenegro in 2002.

The numbers say Arroyo’s net worth grew by more than 1,600 percent in the seven years that he has been a public official.

The President’s eldest son, a one-time movie actor, became vice governor of Pampanga in 2001, and was elected congressman of the province’s second district in 2004 and 2007.

The Omnibus Election Code requires candidates to file a “full, true and itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the election” within 30 days after the election. This means the candidate is supposed to declare contributions in all forms and amounts made by all donors.

Election law expert Sixto Brillantes said Rep. Arroyo could have committed perjury for failing to report the campaign contributions he received.

There were reports that Rep. Arroyo and his brother, Camarines Rep. Diosdado Ignacio “Dato” Arroyo, started buying houses in California and acquiring local business interests soon after they became congressmen.