Mike A to complain vs Ping before ethics panel

First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo will file a complaint against opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson before the Senate ethics committee tomorrow, his lawyer Jesus Santos announced yesterday.

Santos said Mr. Arroyo wanted to teach Lacson a lesson not to abuse his parliamentary immunity by making unjust accusations maligning his client.

"It (accusations) is abominable that you will just accuse a person without presenting proof. You are merely out to destroy a person’s name and image," Santos told the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo news forum in Quezon City yesterday.

He said Mr. Arroyo’s camp will not be seeking for Lacson’s expulsion from the Senate but merely remind Lacson and other lawmakers that they are still liable in destroying other people’s reputation.

Under Senate rules, a senator can be reprimanded, suspended or expelled depending on the degree of guilt.

Santos said it is up to the ethics committee, chaired by Sen. Francis Pangilinan, to decide on Lacson’s case. "(But) definitely we will not ask for his expulsion," he said.

Lacson has accused Mr. Arroyo of money laundering in maintaining bank accounts under the name Jose Pidal.

Lacson went on to tick off several banks, including government institutions such as the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in Mr. Arroyo’s supposed money laundering scheme.

PCSO chairman Ma. Livia de Leon has filed a complaint before the same committee against Lacson accusing the senator of maligning the integrity of the agency in linking it to the controversy.

Santos reiterated his appeal for the Senate to terminate the hearing on the Jose Pidal accounts for Lacson’s failure to present strong evidence to support his allegations that Mr. Arroyo is the owner of the questionable accounts in six banks.

"Let us put a stop to the hearings. The senators are wasting their time and the people’s money," Santos said.

Santos reiterated the challenge for the opposition senator to take his accusations against Mr. Arroyo before the courts.

"It will only be upon the filing of this case in court that the banks can be ordered to reveal their records," he said.

Lacson in his Sept. 1 privilege speech identified several banks as depositories of public funds for the Pidal account.

Officials of Banco de Oro, Union Bank of the Philippines, Philam Savings Bank, BPI Family savings bank, Banco Filipino has denied the existence of the accounts individually owned by Pidal, or jointly with Victoria "Vicky" Toh, Mr. Arroyo’s personal secretary, among others.

"It is now clear that Sen. Lacson has no evidence, no substantiated charge, no court case, only gossip and malicious lies on said bank accounts," Santos said.

Santos went on to challenge the opposition senator to fulfill his promise to donate the P260 million once it is proven that the accounts exist.

"Now that it has been established by the banks themselves that the assertions by Sen. Lacson on the banks were pure lies, it is time he make good on his promise to give the P260 million to the Senate employees," he said.

Santos also claimed Lacson "is scraping the bottom of the barrel," in digging up the private financial transactions of the First Gentleman’s younger brother, businessman Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo.

The younger Arroyo admitted he opened the Jose Pidal account in 1997 for "security reasons" but was closed in August 2001 before the Anti-Money Laundering Law took effect.

"Therefore, there was no crime. So, what corruption is Sen. Lacson talking about?" Santos asked.