DOJ assists US in probing Mikey Arroyo for alleged money laundering

Published July 10, 2012 1:26pm

The Justice Department has started helping the US government in its investigation of Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and his wife Ma. Angela for alleged money laundering.

In a chance interview with reporters on Tuesday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said they started looking into the matter after the US government sought aasistance from the DOJ, the latter being the central authority under the Philippine-US Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT).

"May proseso na kami [in place] diyan. We have an existing mechanism. There are personnel of the DOJ working on that request," De Lima told reporters.

De Lima kept mum on details of the investigation, and maintained that everything is confidential while the probe is ongoing. She said inquiries on the case should actually be directed not to the DOJ but to the respective embassies of the US and the Philippines.

"We are obliged to render assistance whenever requested within the term and in pursuance of that MLAT... These are all within the parameter of the PHL-US MLAT," she said. De Lima revealed that apart from Mikey and his wife, two other individuals were implicated in the case. She did not identify the two. Anomalous

Reached for comment, Mikey's counsel Ruy Rondain said: "I find it anomalous that the Justice Department would titillate the public by claiming that the US government is investigating Rep. Mikey Arroyo, but at the same time refuse to divulge details because the investigation is supposedly confidential. If it's confidential, why disclose the fact of the investigation at all?" "I think the DOJ should be protective of Filipino citizens instead of being accusatory and prosecutorial in the international stage. If this can be done to a sitting member of the Congress, ordinary citizens should really start to worry," Rondain added. Mikey is the eldest son of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Mrs. Arroyo now represents the second district of Pampanga in the House of Representatives.

In 2009, it was reported that Mikey had failed, for the last two years, to declare a P63-million property in California, which he bought and transferred to his wife in 2006.

At the time, Mikey said the money he used to buy the property came from cash gifts he got from their wedding, as well as from campaign contributions.

The Arroyo couple is separately facing tax evasion charges filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Mikey is accused of failing to file income tax returns for 2008 and 2009, and filing inaccurate information in his 2005 ITR.

His wife, Angela, meanwhile, allegedly failed to file her ITRs from 2003 to 2009. — with Andreo Calonzo/RSJ/KG, GMA News

Tags: leiladelima, mikeyarroyo, moneylaundering, angelaarroyo