PAGC can’t probe lifestyle of Mike Arroyo

Hold your horses.

First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo cannot arbitrarily be subjected to a lifestyle check because he is neither a public official nor a presidential appointee, the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) said yesterday.

President Arroyo said the other day her husband would be included in the life-style check to be conducted on top government officials "to demonstrate that there are no sacred cows in my government."

PAGC Chairman Dario Rama said that if Mrs. Arroyo wanted the First Gentleman included in the lifestyle check, she will have to amend Executive Order 12 or issue a separate directive ordering the PAGC to include her spouse in the PAGC list.

Rama said the anti-graft body is scheduled to meet with Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo to discuss the matter.

"As of now, we cannot investigate the First Gentleman unless the President will tell us or instruct us to do so," he added.

In another development, the PAGC has asked 20 more department heads to submit their statements of assets and liabilities (SALs) for the last three years.

The secretaries of the departments of agrarian reform, agriculture, environment and natural resources, energy, budget and management, education, finance, foreign affairs, social welfare and development, justice, labor and employment, public works and highways, national defense, science and technology, tourism, and trade and industry and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) were given until Oct. 30 to submit their SALs.

The PAGC also asked the Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit to submit his SAL, as well as the SALs of all hospital chiefs directly involved in the management of a government hospital.

On Wednesday, the PAGC immediately sent letters to the bureaus of internal revenue, Customs and immigration requesting for the same documents. The bureaus and the DOH were given until Nov. 5 to comply with the PAGC request.

The PAGC has asked bureau and department heads to include the SALS of their deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners, regional directors, assistant regional directors, undersecretaries and assistant secretaries.

Despite all these, Rama admitted that the lifestyle check cannot be done overnight. The PAGC is working against a self-imposed 60-day deadline.

Mrs. Arroyo ordered a lifestyle check to see if top government officials are living within their means.

The President made the move after Philippines was listed as the 11th most corrupt country among 102 nations by London-based corruption watchdog Transparency International, sharing the slot with Pakistan, Romania and Zambia.

Transparency International’s definition of corruption includes the abuse of "public office for private gain."

The People’s Consultative Assembly (PCA), meanwhile, branded as a moro-moro (sham) the President’s statements encouraging her husband to face a Senate investigation in connection with allegations that he was involved in anomalous government transactions.

PCA secretary general Linda Montayre said she and her colleagues will only believe the results of the Senate probe "if Mike (Arroyo) is really put behind bars. If he doesn’t land in jail, then the (Senate probe) is just a moro-moro."

PCA has banded together with other sectoral groups to form Koalisyon and plans to forge an alliance with leftist groups Bayan Muna and Sanlakas.

According to Montayre, Koalisyon believes both the First Gentleman and the President "did wrong" and that they are "in collusion" with each other, adding that she and her group gathered audiotape and documentary evidence as proof.

Montayre is confident the New People’s Army (NPA) will hold a "people’s trial" against the First Couple, based on the tape recordings, audio and video tapes, and documents submitted by Koalisyon to the Communist Party of the Philippines.

"We hope (the NPA) pushes through (with the people’s trial) because the whole country awaits their move. We support (the people’s trial against Mike Arroyo), that is why we submitted documents to them," Montayre added.

The PCA leader also urged the NPA to look into the possible involvement of officials identified with the First Gentleman in anomalous transactions with the government. "We are calling on the NPA to, if possible, investigate the witnesses and Mike (Arroyo’s) cohorts," she said in Filipino. — With Pia Lee-Brago