Iggy dared to file libel vs jueteng witness

Former solicitor general Francisco Chavez dared Negros Occidental Rep. Jose Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo yesterday to make good on his threat to file libel charges against his client, Sandra Cam, who had accused President Arroyo’s brother-in-law of receiving payoffs from jueteng.

Meanwhile, presidential son Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo said in a statement that he had already directed his lawyer, Grace Maduramente, to prepare civil and criminal cases against Cam for peddling lies and implicating him in the jueteng protection racket.

"I said last week that I am not the Lion King and that they are the Liar Kings," he said. "Now, the Liar Queen has emerged from intensive coaching and preparation to peddle a deceitful and utterly untrue story."

Mikey said he had never met Cam nor had he accepted a gift-wrapped parcel from her at the session hall of the House of Representatives as she alleged in her Senate testimony yesterday.

"Her handlers decided to change her story so I would now be directly implicated as a payola recipient because last night she had only linked me through hearsay," he said.

Cam’s story yesterday was "radically different" from her account to the media Wednesday night, he added.

Mikey said Cam is a "liar queen offering a fantastic fable to rope the Arroyos," and that he expects "dubious characters" like her to emerge and drag him and the Arroyos into the jueteng scandal.

"The people will find out that, again, Ms. Cam has lied to further the vindictive agenda of her handlers to bring down the administration," he said. "And as this happens, we will see new witnesses popping up like mushrooms to spread new disinformation in an attempt to discredit us."

Mikey questioned Cam’s claim that she could not remember the exact date last December when she allegedly visited the Pampanga lawmaker at the House to hand over P500,000 in jueteng payola.

"That’s only last December," he said.

"She can remember what I was supposed to have worn, said and other details, but she cannot remember the most important detail, which is when this happened.

"Of course she cannot reveal this, and she claims she did not pass through the very strict registration and security at the House, because this never actually happened."

Mikey said that Cam, in her television interview yesterday, claimed she had first gone to the House with retired police General

Restituto Mosqueda on the 22nd of an earlier month, but in her Senate testimony yesterday, she claimed to have visited the Batasan for the first time when she claimed to have seen the Arroyos in December.

"She was quite confident in the beginning of her narrative, (but) under intelligent questioning by Senators Santiago and Gordon, it was very obvious that she was lying," he said.

"We will continue to gather all her statements, so appropriate cases can be filed with the authorities."

Speaking over radio station dzMM, Chavez said Cam’s knowledge about the alleged jueteng payola of Iggy and Mikey Arroyo is "complete and well-detailed."

"I am challenging (Rep.) Iggy (Arroyo) to file the charges against my client," he said. "Malayo sa atay ang libel, ang plunder ay malapit sa atay (Libel is far from the liver, plunder is near the liver)."

Chavez said Cam had personally asked him to represent her.

"Ms. Cam told me that there are some lawyers who have offered to lawyer for her," he said. "But she chose me, I don’t know if this is for advertisement. She told me that she wants me to represent her because of my integrity, credibility, and (because) I’m courageous."

The information Cam knows about jueteng payoffs will lead all the way to the controversial Jose Pidal account, Chavez said.

In a privileged speech last year, Sen. Panfilo Lacson claimed that the account contained the undeclared wealth of First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo.

At the height of a Senate investigation last year, Iggy Arroyo claimed that he owned the Jose Pidal account.

Originally, Cam was under the protection of Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan Oscar Cruz but, apparently fearing for her safety, she left his camp and went to ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. where she aired her exposé on "TV Patrol" on ABS-CBN last Wednesday. — Jose Rodel Clapano, Jess Diaz