FG's alleged secret bank account

August 16, 2006: During a House committee hearing on the impeachment complaint against President Arroyo, then Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano alleged that a member of the Arroyo family has a secret bank account in Germany amounting to "hundreds of millions of dollars". First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo reacted by challenging Cayetano to go with him to Germany and verify the alleged bank account. Instead of accepting the ticket that the first gentleman sent to him, Cayetano dared Arroyo to sign a waiver that would pave the way for an investigation. Arroyo flew to Germany and returned with a certification from HypoVereinsbank denying the existence of the bank account. It turned out that HypoVereinsbank account numbers bear only 10 digits, not 22 as Cayetano mentioned in his expose. Cayetano ignored Arroyo's demand for a public apology and reiterated his challenge for the first gentleman to sign a waiver. Arroyo sought Cayetano's expulsion from Congress, and the House ethics committee found his complaint sufficient in form. The congressman, however, was not expelled. Cayetano won a Senate seat in the May 2007 elections. In choosing the Senate President, he voted for Manuel Villar, who had aligned himself with the administration senators. Cayetano is now chair of the Blue Ribbon committee.