Mike Arroyo accuser in WB mess flees to US

MANILA, Philippines - The contractor who implicated First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo in the alleged rigging of bids for local road projects funded by the World Bank has fled the country at the height of the controversy. In her exclusive report, GMA News’ Sandra Aguinaldo said a check with the Bureau of Immigrations (BI) revealed that a certain Noelito Datu Policarpio, who served as informant for World Bank officials, left for the United States last February 11. The report was aired over GMA News’ “24 Oras." In the World Bank report, Policarpio, owner of the R.D. Policarpio ng Co. Inc., was quoted as saying that Mr. Arroyo was supporting Eduardo de Luna, one of the contractors blacklisted by the Bank. "Mr. Policarpio said that Mr. De Luna is 'behind' Mr. [Tito] Miranda and the husband of Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, is 'behind' Mr. De Luna," a portion of the report read. The report further said that Policarpio told the investigators that “in large government contracts, the process is completely fixed. Prices are determined, and winners and losers are determined before the bidding even takes place." Mr. Arroyo and De Luna have earlier denied the accusations. They also denied being close to one other. Oppositon Senator Panfilo Lacson meanwhile said the move of Policarpio is understandable since he is up against powerful people. “[That is] understandable [because] he's up against some very powerful individuals in and out of the government," he said. Lacson also expressed confidence that despite the absence of key personalities, the truth behind the controversy would be unearthed. Sen. Francis Escudero shared Lacson’s view, saying other witnesses could still surface to shed light on the issue. “Sa katunayan kung bubusisiin natin yung report ng World Bank, makikita sa bid documents na isinumite ng contractors na nag-participate sa bidding na ito (na may) klarong-klarong kutsabahan ang mga nag-participate na contractors," Escudero said. [“In fact, if we are going to scrutinize the WB report, if we look at the bid documents of the contractors that participated in the bidding, it is very clear that there was collusion among them."] - GMANews.TV