Ate Glo: Mike on his own, I’m married to RP

She did not quite advise her husband to go "pidal" or paddle his own canoe, as the text jokes say. But President Arroyo stressed yesterday she would not lift a finger to help First Gentleman Mike Arroyo out of his current woes involving allegations of money laundering.

"I am not going to intervene," the President said in a speech at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) last night. "The Palace is not a legal refuge of the First Family. I am married to our country."

Earlier yesterday, Malacañang said the President "will not extend any mantle of protection" to Mr. Arroyo once the charges are filed against him in court in connection with opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s accusations that the First Gentleman maintained secret bank accounts under the name of "Jose Pidal" to launder millions of pesos in campaign contributions.

"The stance of our President is, first, she is asking all those who have accusations against the First Gentleman to bring them right away to court, and once these are brought before the courts, the First Gentleman would launch his own defense and the Palace will not intervene," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

Bunye stressed Mrs. Arroyo remains undistracted by the latest accusations against her husband. He said the accusations are "private matters" that should not affect the President in running matters of the state.

At the PMA last night, the President said, the controversy "has nothing to do with my work as Chief Executive."

"I do not interfere with my husband’s private business and I do not allow him to interfere in the affairs of the State," she said. "My husband is not a ward of the Palace… neither he nor any other member of the First Family is under the mantle of political protection."

Bunye said Mrs. Arroyo echoed the call of her husband to file the case in court.

"First of all, the First Gentleman is a lawyer himself and he has his own legal team," Bunye said.

Bunye explained the difference between filing the case in court or conducting a Senate inquiry into the allegations.

If the complaint is filed in court, Bunye said Lacson would be held accountable if his allegations are proven false since they were not done under oath.

Secondly, Bunye said evidence presented by Lacson during his privileged speech were not being authenticated but they become part of the records of the Senate.

"That is why the challenge of the First Gentleman is to produce the original documents from which things could be compared," Bunye said.

Bunye said filing the case directly in court would be more expeditious since a judgment will be rendered if Mr. Arroyo is guilty or not of the charges.

"In the case of a Senate investigation, its end result is without pronouncement of guilt or innocence of Attorney Arroyo but its result is a piece of legislation," he said. — Ann Corvera, Marichu Villanueva