Mike Arroyo in US, taunts political foes

Upon arrival in the United States on Thursday, the husband of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo taunted his critics for saying he could not go there because he faces investigation over alleged money laundering charges. First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike" Arroyo, who is part of the Philippine presidential delegation to the US, denied there is an arrest warrant for him. Mr. Arroyo is accompanying his wife, who is scheduled to meet with US President Barack Obama on Thursday. Mr. Arroyo has been rumored to be avoiding the US because he was being investigated for possible money laundering in connection with his supposed accounts in the collapsed US investment house Lehman Brothers. Such rumors and speculations were fueled by his failure to show up in the recent fights of world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas, of which the First Gentleman had been a common fixture. "Nandito ako sa US, just like last time. Ang sinasabi ng aking kritiko puro kasinungalingan (I'm here in the US, just like last time. All that my critics have been saying are pure lies)," Mr. Arroyo said in an interview on dzXL radio. He said he does not engage in money laundering or hold bank accounts, properties or stocks in the US as his critics claimed. The First Gentleman took a dig at the presidential couple's most vocal critics - Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson and former President Joseph Estrada. "Ang 'di pwedeng pumunta rito, si Ping Lacson at Estrada (The ones who cannot set foot here are Ping Lacson and Estrada)," he said. He was apparently referring to the identification of Estrada, Lacson and former House Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella as recipients of classified information in the espionage case filed by the FBI against naturalized FIlipino American Leandro Aragoncillo and former Philippine police officer Michael Ray Aquino in 2007. He also hit back at Mrs. Arroyo's critics who are insisting that she plans to stay in power after her term ends on June 30, 2010. The political opposition has accused President Arroyo of plotting to cling on to power after 2010, citing persistent moves by her allies in Congress to tinker with the Philippine Constitution, allegedly to remove limits to the president's term of office or change the form of government to allow Mrs. Arroyo to seek the post of prime minister. He said Mrs. Arroyo had made it clear during her 9th State of the Nation Address last Monday that she will step down once her term ends. "Yung ayaw maniwala 'di talaga maniniwala. Wala kang magagawa (Those who do not want to believe can no longer be convinced. There's nothing we can do)," he said. Based on hearsay Opposition elder Ernesto Maceda said Estrada and Lacson “need not dignify with a reply" the First Gentleman’s “tirades," which he said was “based on hearsay and speculations and must, therefore, be brushed aside for lack of merit." “Mr. Arroyo is not an official of the US government, thus the alleged charges against former President Estrada and Senator Lacson, which he talked about, could not be given any weight," said Maceda, a former senator who served as Philippine envoy to Washington during Estrada’s abbreviated presidency, He said that Mr. Arroyo’s going to the US to accompany the President in her meeting with President Obama was rendered questionable by his own statements. “Mr. Arroyo claimed that he went to the US to prove that he had not been blacklisted by US authorities over an alleged money laundering case awaiting him there," said Maceda in a pres statement. “Fact is, he cannot be arrested by the US authorities because he carries a diplomatic passport. “ “Well and good, except it had to be asked now whether Mr. Arroyo used taxpayers’ money for his trip to the US which he undertook, as admitted by him, for a very personal purpose," said Maceda. Maceda had earlier chided Obama for hosting President Arroyo when he, during his campaigns, had criticized “corrupt, lying and repressive leaders" which he stressed were on “wrong side of history." “President Arroyo perfectly fits Obama’s description of leaders whom he said he was predisposed not to be associated with," he said. Other Arroyo critics, including senior statesmen such as former Senate President Jovito R. Salonga and former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., issued a similar statement telling Obama to be discerning in meeting with world leaders. - GMANews.TV