Noynoy Aquino

Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party announced his decision to join the presidential race in a press conference at the Club Filipino in San Juan, Metro Manila.

What follows is a liveblog of the morning event that was televised.

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7:35 a.m. Supporters gather at the Club Filipino in San Juan, Metro Manila.

7:39 a.m. It’s a sea of yellow at the Club Filipino with supporters wearing yellow. Among those attending the press conference are Liberal Party members and Senators Franklin Drilon, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Manuel “Mar” Roxas II.

7:42 a.m. Members of the Black and White movement  and the Hyatt 10, or former Cabinet officials who bolted out of the administration, join the press conference to also throw their support to Noynoy Aquino.

7:46 a.m. People are asked to take their seats as the press conference is about to start.

7:50 a.m. The Aquino family arrives. Kris Aquino and husband James with their son baby James join the press conference. They are all wearing black with yellow ribbons.

7:52 a.m. Prayer is led.

7:54 a.m. Noynoy Aquino arrives and greets fellow members of the Liberal Party. People chant “Noynoy, Noynoy.”

7:56 a.m. Noynoy Aquino is introduced and is set to address supporters. Chants continue. “Mabuhay si Noynoy Aquino,” one shouts. He starts to thank his family.

7:59 a.m. Noynoy asks himself if he wants to continue on the fight, as he addressed supporters in Filipino. He recalls how the country has witnessed the outpouring of support for his family during the death and burial of her mother.

8:04 a.m. He admits that he didn’t want to get out of his retreat. But he realized that serving the people comes first. He praises Mar for his decision to give way. He also recalls his conversations with three people: One with a grade five student. One of the questions that struck him was a question about his sister, Kris Aquino. This remark elicits a laugh among the crowd.

8:09 a.m. Noynoy says the biggest sin among public servants is for people to lose hope.

8:10 a.m. I am accepting the plea of the citizens. I’m accepting the legacy of my parents. I also accept the responsibility to continue the fight for our people. I am accepting to lead the fight. My countrymen, I will run for president this coming elections. I will continue the fight. Thank you very much.

8:12 a.m. Answering questions, Noynoy says he’s expecting Manuel “Mar” Roxas II to be his running mate. But he will wait for his decision.

8:15 a.m. Sister Ballsy Aquino-Cruz addresses the supporters, acknowledging that they are supporting their brother in his bid for the president.

8:19 a.m. Noynoy Aquino answers various questions from supporters and the media.

8:23 a.m. My political career is very clear. I want to make democracy work not just for the rich but for everybody.

8:29 a.m. Everybody joins in the singing of “Bayan Ko.” Supporters also raise their fist while others flash the “Laban” sign.

8:31 a.m. Press conference ends. Noynoy is mobbed by the media.

8:33 a.m. In a brief interview with media, Noynoy reiterates that his decision to run for president is he’s response to a legitimate call from the people. He stressed that he’s also responding to the will of his parents. He welcomed all help for his fight for democracy.

Editor’s note: This story has been published on Vera Files and permission has been given to re-publish on this blog.

Copy of documents from Vera Files

Mikey said on national television Tuesday that campaign contributions and wedding gifts were partly the reason his declared net worth ballooned from P5.7 million in 2001 to P74.4 million in 2004 and then to P99.2 million last year. Mikey wed his second cousin Angela Arroyo Montenegro in 2002.

The numbers say Mikey’s net worth grew by more than 1,600 percent in the seven years that he has been a public official. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s eldest son, a one-time movie actor, became vice governor of Pampanga in 2001, and was elected congressman of the province’s second district in 2004 and 2007.

“Siyempre unang una, kinasal tayo. Medyo nagkaroon tayo ng maraming regalo. Tapos pag kampanya, siyempre kahit paano maraming tumutulong sa atin (Of course, first I got married. We received a lot of gifts. Then during campaigns, somehow we get contributions),” Mikey told Solita Monsod and Arnold Clavio, hosts of the morning show “Unang Hirit.”

But his statements of contributions and expenses for the last two congressional elections show zero donations to his campaign, which he reported as having been funded from his own pocket.
Mikey declared campaign expenses of P483,000 in 2004 and P552,876.15 in 2007. His 2007 spending included posters and leaflets, P246,740.10; gas and diesel, P88,332.80; meals, P148,560; rental of building, P40,000; and miscellaneous expenses, specifically financial assistance to indigents, P29,243.25.

The Omnibus Election Code requires candidates to file a “full, true and itemized statement of all contributions and expenditures in connection with the election” within 30 days after the election. This means the candidate is supposed to declare contributions in all forms and amounts made by all donors.

Election law expert Sixto Brillantes said Mikey could have committed perjury for failing to report the campaign contributions he received.

He added, “If he used that (campaign contributions) for personal purposes, then he should report that as an income, as a donation. If he did not report that, then he violated the Income Tax Law.” The Internal Revenue Code imposes a donor’s tax on donations.

Mikey’s appearance on Unang Hirit stemmed from a VERA Files report that said he failed to declare in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Network (SALN) for 2007 and 2008 a million-dollar beachfront house in Foster City, California, currently registered in his wife’s name.

VERA Files also reported that Mikey and his brother, Camarines Rep. Diosdado Ignacio “Dato” Arroyo, started buying houses in California and acquiring local business interests soon after they became congressmen.

Mikey said he and his family could well afford to buy houses in California, including the $1.32 million (P63.7 million) property at 1655 Beach Park Blvd in Foster City he bought and transferred to his wife’s name in August 2006.

He also insisted, “(The Foster City house) belongs to a company named Beach Way LLC. I’m not the sole owner. I’m part of the owners. I own about 20 to 30 percent, 40 something, like that…She (my wife) doesn’t own anything.”

The interspousal deed transfer recorded in August 2006 as Document No. 2006-126985 in the San Mateo County Assessor’s Office, however, shows “Juan Miguel Arroyo” granting the house in Foster City to his wife “Angela Arroyo Montenegro.”

Although Mikey listed Beach Way Park LLC in his 2007 and 2008 SALN, the San Mateo County Assessor’s Office has no record of Beach Way Park LLC (Limited Liability Company) owning the Foster City property. There is also no listing of a business entity named Beach Way Park in the county assessor’s office, California Secretary of State and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company is also not registered with the Philippine SEC.

Instead, the most recent entry on the Arroyo’s Beach Way Park on the county assessor’s database is Document No. 2008-041550 recorded in April 2008 in which Indy Mac Bank (now OneWest Bank) “reconveyed” or returned the Foster City property to Angela “by reason of the payment of the indebtedness.” She had mortgaged the house for $858,000.

SALN filing guidelines require public officials to declare property owned by their spouses.

Mikey also told Unang Hirit that the Foster City house is not for sale.

VERA Files reported that the property was being sold after confirming that it was—and still is—advertised as for sale on the real estate Websites www.zillow.com and www.ewalk.com. The ewalk Website names the asking price: $1.38 million.

The San Mateo Tax Collector/Treasurer’s Office assessed the value of the Foster City property at $1.35 million in 2008 and $1.37 million this year. Data from this office also show the $14,511.48 property tax was paid last Jan. 16 and payment of the $14,869.62 property tax for 2009 falls due on April 10, 2010.

Mikey said on TV that the “residential house” in the U.S. he declared in his 2005 and 2006 SALNs are two different houses. “We sold the (2005) house after five or six months,” he said, and then bought another house.

Of the U.S. house declared in the 2006 SALN, Mikey said, “Nabenta rin ito (We also sold this). It’s not the Foster City residence.” This means he bought three houses from 2005 to 2006, but did not identify the other property.

Asked by Clavio about reports he had bought another property in the U.S., Mikey said, “Meron, pero hindi sa kin yun (There is, but it’s not mine).” He and Clavio then laughed.

Aside from the house in Foster City, the San Mateo County Assessor’s Office records the Arroyos’ purchase in September 2005 of their three-bedroom unit at the Manors Condominiums at 805 Mendocino Way in Redwood City for $900,000.

Like the Foster City house, Mikey had transferred the property to his wife. Angela sold the property in December 2006 for $880,000, four months after they bought the Foster City property.

Former Civil Service Commission Chair Karina David told another television program last week that the transfer of ownership to wives or husbands of properties that may have been acquired illegally has been a practice by government officials who cannot explain their wealth acquisition.

On the sudden increase in his assets, Mikey said, “(It’s not) ill-gotten, hindi naman kalakihan ’yan (It’s not too big).”

Under Republic Act 6758, a vice governor receives a monthly compensation equivalent to salary grade 28, with a pay ranging from P15,180 to P16,275. A congressman receives a basic salary of P35,000 a month or P420,000 a year, according to the Commission on Audit.

In the three years he served as vice governor, Mikey should have earned a gross income of P634,725, including 13th month pay. Despite having declared no real property or business interests while still vice governor, even after his marriage to Angela, save for P2.1 million of unspecified shares of stock in 2001 and 2002 and about P3 million in bank deposits, he managed to acquire by 2004 a house in Lubao, Pampanga, worth P4 million and a house in La Vista in Quezon City for P8 million. He did not report having borrowed money or incurred other liabilities before he was elected congressman.

In his first term as congressman, Mikey’s gross salary should have totaled P1.26 million.

Mikey declared acquisition of businesses in 2006: Mikey’s Horseman Bar and Grill Inc., Visualtoon Creations Inc. and LPG Auto Gas. Shortly after he got elected in 2007, he again declared new business interests: Los Manos Verdes Inc. and Beach Way Park but stopped declaring Visualtoon. In 2008, he declared his investment in U18 Properties Inc. and La Vista Investments and Holdings Inc.

Mikey also first declared in 2005 a “personal loan from relatives” of P27.1 million, an amount he continued to list among his liabilities until July 2007, indicating that the loan went unpaid. In December 2007, his “advances from relatives” climbed to P33.8 million. The same entry and amount appear in his December 2008 declarations.

He lists cash in bank and on bank (P51 million in 2008 and P46 million in 2007), and stock portfolios (P44 million in both years) as his most substantial assets.

Although Mikey said his wealth was not that big, the Foster City house and the Redwood City condo that he and his wife still owned in 2006 had a combined value of $2.22 million or about P108 million, an amount that could have bought 2.16 million textbooks for public school children.

Unable to explain the gaps in his SALN, Mikey said his lawyers “made a mistake” in filing the SALN and the law allows him to correct the errors in his annual declarations. “Hindi pa tayo sanay mag-file ng SAL (We were not yet used to filing SALs),” he said.

David said while the law allows corrections to the SALN, the mistake should not have been repeatedly committed.

“Pero kung taun-taon at mali at kinorek mo, ang question diyan ay hindi iyong ikaw ba ay nagsinungaling lamang kundi pati kung kaya mo bang panindigan na kumita ka ng ganun kalaking halaga para makakuha ng ganyang klase ng kayamanan (If the mistake was committed every year and you corrected it, the question here is not only whether you are lying but also whether you can explain how you were able to acquire that kind of wealth),” she said.

On Unang Hirit, Mikey challenged his detractors, “Why don’t you just sue me in court? Get it over with?”

The SALN Manual says, “The SALN is made under oath. Falsification of information or failure to file or report information required to be reported may subject you to disciplinary/criminal action. Knowing and willful falsification of information required to be reported may also subject you to criminal prosecution.”

Under Republic Act 6713 entitled “Establishing a Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees,” the penalties for willful falsification of information ranges from imprisonment of five years or less, a fine of P5,000 or less, and dismissal from the service.

David said a government official caught lying in his SALN can be charged with perjury. Lying in the SALN can also be interpreted as having unexplained wealth, which can be a basis for a graft case, she said.—Ellen Tordesillas, Avigail Olarte, Yvonne Chua and Luz Rimban

*(VERA Files is the work of senior journalists taking a deeper look at current issues. Vera is Latin for “true.”)

Mar Roxas and Korina Sanchez

Presidential aspirant Senator Manuel Roxas II gives way to Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

Saying he believed in “country above self,” Roxas stressed he would be supporting Aquino in the 2010 elections although it was not immediately clear whether Aquino would seek the presidency.

“Today, I’m announcing my support for the candidacy of Noynoy Aquino for president for 2010,” Roxas said in a televised press conference at the Club Filipino in San Juan, Metro Manila.

“Sa madaling salita, Noynoy has made it clear to me he wants to carry the torch of leadership,” he added.

However, Aquino, who was also at the press conference, did not deliver a speech.

Roxas said that after several talks with Aquino, they came up with a decision that would help them pursue their “common dream” for change.

“Ito na ang pinakamabigat na desisyon sa buhay ko [This is the biggest decision I've made in my life],” said Roxas who already released several political advertisements ahead of the 2010 polls. He is also set to marry broadcaster Korina Sanchez in October.

“I do this for unity in support for change…if that means somebody has to make a sacrifice, ako na,” he said.

The senator’s late father, former Senator Gerry Roxas, was a close friend and political ally of Aquino’s assassinated father, former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. The older Roxas and Aquino almost went against each other for the 1972 presidential elections, which did not push through when then president Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law.

By Thea Alberto
Yahoo! Philippines

Only a “miracle” would stop pardoned President Joseph Estrada from pursuing the presidency in the 2010 elections.

By “miracle,” Estrada meant having only one presidential candidate for the opposition, a wish he would unlikely achieve after Senators Manuel Villar, Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, Ma. Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal, have expressed their intent to seek the highest office in the country in the 2010 polls.

Other visible hopefuls are Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Loren Legarda, religious leaders Mike Velarde, Eddie Villanueva and Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio.

“I’m still expecting a miracle of having a single presidential candidate [for the opposition],” Estrada said in a recent interview with the Yahoo! Philippines.

Estrada has admitted reaching out to some of the 2010 hopefuls to convince them to back out, but most insisted that they have already decided.

The only time he would withdraw from the race is “If they all back out and we will agree on one candidate to ensure the victory of the opposition,” Estrada added.

He also believed that he has kept the “Erap magic.”

“I don’t think I will run again if I don’t see any Erap power back,” he said, noting that he has his own choices for a running mate but the formal announcement would be made in September.

The former president said he was also not worried about funds when election campaign starts. This is despite the pending forfeiture of his assets, which he claimed were gained while he was still a movie actor.

“I know I have enough money,” he said.

The Sandiganbayan on September 2007 convicted Estrada of plunder and ordered the forfeiture to the government of cash representing Estrada’s “jueteng” (illegal numbers game) payoffs amounting to P545.29 million with interest, including the P200 million deposited in the name of the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation; the P189-million commission from the purchase of Belle Corp. shares that ended up in the so-called Jose Velarde account, and the 5, 192.88 square-meter “Boracay Mansion” in New Manila, Quezon City.

After six years of detention in his Tanay rest house, and a month after his conviction, Estrada was freed following an executive clemency from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Debates on Estrada’s eligibility to run have once again emerged.

*(Photo courtesy of Stitch).