Senators: Controversial PNP choppers used in '04 poll fraud

Senators on Thursday said the Arroyo family may have used the helicopters owned by former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo to conduct “special operations" in Mindanao during the 2004 elections. During the day’s hearing of the blue ribbon committee, former police pilots Dennis Sylvestre and Margarito Labastilla confirmed that they flew Lion Air’s R44 Raven 1 helicopters usually with members of the Arroyo family on board. In several media interviews, Mr. Arroyo has denied ownership of two R44 Raven I helicopters that were sold to the Philippine National Police (PNP) as brand new. He, however, skipped Thursday’s hearing. Sen. President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, however, wondered why the trips were usually to Mindanao during the 2004 elections, which was allegedly marred with widespread fraud that benefited then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroy. “Nagkakatugma talaga yung pagpunta mo roon sa Mindanao after elections sapagkat nagsasagawa sila ng special operations para ma-ensure yung pagkapanalo ni GMA (Arroyo’s initials)," he said. Estrada is the son of former President Joseph Estrada, whom Arroyo replaced in 2001 following massive street protests calling for his ouster due to corruption. "Unwittingly kayo ang naging piloto, kayo nagparticipate din kayo sa dayaan noong nakaraang eleksyon. Kayo ang naglipad sa mga tao na gumagawa ng special operations para panalunin si Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo noong 2004 elections," the younger Estrada accused.

The pilots said they flew helicopters for the First Gentleman, then-Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo and Camarines Sur Rep. Dato Arroyo between 2004 and 2007. Silvestre said he also remembers boarding Davao Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and former Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri in 2004. Duterte was then running for reelection as Davao mayor while Zubiri was a congressman representing Bukidnon. Labastilla, meanwhile, said he remembers boarding Judge Nagamura Moner, who was also allegedly involved in poll fraud in 2004. Senator Serge Osmeña also quizzed the two pilots whether they met former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, who was allegedly a participant in the rigging of the 2004 elections. The pilots denied that they flew a helicopter with Garcillano on board. Both Garcillano and the Arroyo camp had repeatedly denied that cheating occurred in the 2004 elections. Arroyo won in the 2004 presidential elections after garnering 12,905,808 votes over her closest rival, the late actor Fernando Poe Jr., who got 11,782,232 votes. Poe claimed that Arroyo had robbed him of his electoral victory. He died on Dec. 14, 2004 but his widow, Susan Roces, pursued the protest. In 2005, the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) dismissed the protest. - KBK, GMA News