‘Iggy’ copied Mike A’s Pidal signature — Serge

Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo tried hard but failed to copy his brother Jose Miguel Arroyo’s signature as the mysterious "Jose Pidal," Sen. Sergio Osmeña III alleged yesterday.

Presenting to the press blown-up copies of what he described as the real Jose Pidal signatures and those of Iggy Arroyo, Osmeña cited what he said were glaring differences between the two sets of signatures.

"The handwriting of Mike Arroyo as Jose Pidal flows smoothly, while Iggy’s motion was jerky, since he was just trying to imitate his brother’s signature. One imitation signature is different from another. One Jose Pidal reads more like Jose Pidol," he said.

Iggy Arroyo’s lawyer Antonio Zulueta, on the other hand, said official results from the Philippine National Police (PNP) Crime Laboratory at Camp Crame had conclusively shown that his client is indeed the owner of the Jose Pidal accounts in UnionBank and BPI Family Savings Bank.

Zulueta called on Osmeña to respect the PNP Crime Lab’s findings, since it is one of the country’s primary authorities in handwriting examination and document authentication.

"We have submitted the signatures of our clients to the appropriate body for their analysis using the latest technology and equipment, in a manner that is admissible as evidence in court," he said in a statement.

Osmeña chairs the committee on banks, one of three Senate panels involved in the Jose Pidal inquiry. The two others are the Blue Ribbon Committee and the committee on constitutional amendments, and revision of codes and laws, headed respectively by Senators Joker Arroyo and Edgardo Angara.

Osmeña said he would submit his Pidal handwriting analysis to the probe panels.

One of the two sets of signatures he compared was lifted from two checks that mysterious UnionBank and BPI Family Savings Bank depositor Jose Pidal issued in 1998 and 1999. These are the real Pidal signatures, he said.

The other set consists of Jose Pidal signatures Iggy Arroyo made in an exclusive interview with television network GMA-7. The network admitted its interview was arranged by the camp of Jose Miguel Arroyo.

During the interview, Iggy Arroyo claimed he is Jose Pidal, not his brother as opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson claims. He also admitted owning the UnionBank and BPI Family Bank accounts that Lacson referred to in his Incredible Hulk exposé.

Lacson has accused the First Gentleman of using the false name Jose Pidal to hide tens of millions in supposedly illegal funds. The President’s husband has denied the accusation.

Osmeña said Iggy Arroyo refused to sign as Jose Pidal when he appeared before the Senate on Sept. 8 because he was afraid whatever he signs would be different from the signatures he made in his GMA-7 interview.

He said such obstinate refusal made people believe that Ignacio Arroyo is not Jose Pidal and that it is Jose Miguel Arroyo who is the real Jose Pidal.

He added that he would suggest to the investigating panels that the Arroyo brothers be called again to the witness stand.

Osmeña also said President Arroyo’s performance and trust ratings would fall further as the Jose Pidal investigation progresses.

He said the committees intend to hold several more hearings to which more witnesses would be invited. So far, only two hearings have been held.

"But corruption is only one area where the people are dissatisfied with the President’s performance, I think that the people’s biggest concern is hunger and joblessness. If they remain hungry and jobless until May, Gloria (Arroyo) is finished," Osmeña stressed.

Zulueta, on the other hand, said declarations made by Osmeña, a layman, questioning the PNP Crime Lab’s findings "is unfair to the men and women of the PNP Crime Lab, whose findings were arrived at in an impartial and scientific manner."

He said GMA-7 used two experts to examine the signatures made by Iggy Arroyo during the exclusive interview. Manuel Roxas, a retired document examiner of the National Bureau of Investigation, confirmed that Iggy Arroyo’s signatures as Pidal and the signatures from the two checks presented by Lacson were made by the same person.

The other expert, Roger Azores, said while there are differences between the two sets of signatures, the originals will be needed for conclusive results.

Meanwhile, Reuben Lim, a spokesman for the First Gentleman, urged Osmeña to adhere to expert methods of analyzing signatures instead of encouraging analysis by laymen.

"Our request is for the senator to be fair and look at the evidence from a scientific point of view," Lim said at a press conference at the LTA Building in Makati City.

"Let’s not question a report based on scientific and unbiased methods," he added, referring to the results of the PNP’s handwriting analysis.