Monday, June 06, 2005

NR0606:Mike Arroyo jueteng lord in Bicol

Mula sa Tanggapan ni Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran
News Release June 6, 2005
House of Representatives, South Wing Rm 602
931-6615 Ina Alleco R. Silverio,Chief of Staff
Email: paggawa@edsamail.com.ph, anakpawis2003@yahoo.com
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Witness links Mike Arroyo to jueteng payola in Bicol; Pressure on Malacanang to act on revelations mounting - Rep. Beltran

"The First Gentlemen will not be able to shrug off these accusations against him. Constant denials are not enough. It's raining accusations, and the First Gentleman is the most bespattered."

This was the reaction of Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran to the accusation made by a witness during today's Senate investigation on the numbers racket. The witness named presidential spouse Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo as the one who gave the go-signal to Undersecretary for Bicol Affairs Mario Espinosa to collect jueteng payola for three provinces in the region. Demosthenes Abraham Riva told senators during the panel investigation that Espinosa points "Attorney Arroyo" as the one who gave him the blessing to collect jueteng money in the region.

Espinosa was appointed as presidential assistant for Bicol affairs by President Arroyo. He holds the rank of Cabinet undersecretary.

Beltran said that the Senate investigations keep getting warmer and warmer. "The names, place and amounts are coming out in a flood; and the pressure on the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, particularly on the executive, also keeps mounting. The natural, logical process of law should then follow - legal measures should be taken to investigate those being implicated, and swift, decisive steps to close down the jueteng network in the provinces are necessary. This is a mountain of a controversy, and it's going to take one major propaganda campaign on the part of President Arroyo and her spin doctors to level it," he said.

Beltran urged officials of local government u nits and other government officials to help strengthen the credibility of the senate investigations and share information, expose the jueteng network in their respective provinces.

In conclusion, Beltran said that Pres. Arroyo's ratings will continue to plummet as the days go by and more damning details regarding the jueteng syndicate in the country is revealed. "It might be the First Gentleman and two other close presidential relatives who are being accused, but the implications and inevitable impact will be on the presidency itself."

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