MANILA - Presidential son Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo on Monday confirmed that he owns a P63.7 million beachfront property in the US, and refuted claims that he has not been transparent about it.

"I have always been transparent with my SALN ever since I entered public office. I have declared everything I own there. It is self-explanatory,” the president's eldest son said in a statement.

Investigative group Vera Files reported on Sunday that the eldest son of President Arroyo failed to include one of the 2 properties in the US he and his wife have a stake in, in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN).

Transparency was one of the 3 issues raised by the Vera Files report on Sunday and its rejoinder on Monday. The other 2 issues are:

• The timing of the purchases (after Mikey’s and Dato’s election into public office);
• The timing of the sale of one of the properties (Mikey and Angela sold their Redwood City condominium in September 2005, when President Gloria Arroyo was facing impeachment charges)

The issue about the US properties of President Arroyo’s sons came a few weeks after another investigative group, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), reported discrepancies in the SALN of President Arroyo.

PCIJ's 3-part series noted that President Arroyo and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo bought and sold properties—also in San Francisco City.

Transparency

Vera Files reported on Sunday that presidential sons Mikey and Camarines Sur Rep. Diosdado Ignacio "Dato" Macapagal acquired properties in the US—on top of a number of local business interests—after they were elected into Congress.

The report showed that Mikey and his wife Angela are involved in 2 properties in the San Francisco Bay area in California:

1. The $1.32 million or P63.7 million Foster City beachfront property in San Mateo County. It is a 2-story, 5-bedroom, 3-bathroom house located at 1655 Beach Park Blvd in the upmarket part of San Francisco Bay Area in California. Vera Files' research showed that it was bought on Aug. 23, 2006, transferred to Angela’s name in the same year, and is now up for sale.
2. The Redwood City condominium property, also in San Mateo County, sold in September 2005 for $900,000. It’s a 160-square meter 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom property at 805 Mendocino Way or the Manors Condominiums.

The report highlighted that, unlike Dato who declared a P26.7 million one-bedroom condominium in San Francisco, Mikey failed to declare the Foster City beachfront house.

Vera Files noted that Mikey’s Foster City property—which was about $420,000 or about P20-million more expensive than the Redwood City property—was not in his 2007 and 2008 SALN.

Mikey denied any irregularity in his SALNs, however. "Unfortunately, either the writer or writers deliberately imposed a malicious twist on the story or they lack knowledge on the legal aspects regarding corporations.”

According to Mikey, the Foster City property in San Mateo County was not declared in his SALN because it is registered under a limited corporation—Beach Way Park LLC.  

Mikey said he is a shareholder in that corporation, which, in turn, was declared in his SALN. "This fact was even attested to by the writer or the writers of the story," Mikey said.

Mikey's 2008 SALN declared that he has a net worth of P99.2 million. But the breakdown shows he only declared that he owns a P27-million worth of real property. Mikey also has properties in his hometown Lubao, Pampanga and in La Vista, Quezon City.

He also declared P129-million worth of personal assets and P56-million worth of liabilities.

Easy targets

Vera Files said Mikey did declare himself a “shareholder” in a company called Beach Way Park located on “Beach Park Blvd California,” the same street where the Foster City property is located. Unlike his other business interests, he did not say when he acquired the shares in this company.

Mikey did not offer explanations on where the money to buy the US property came from, however.

Dato, too, has yet to explain how he acquired his San Franciso condominium.

House Speaker Prospero Nograles, an ally of the Arroyos, dismissed the story as mere "nitpicking" against the presidential sons.

"A perusal of the statement of assets and liabilities of Rep. Mikey Arroyo sufficiently shows that he and his family can afford the value of the properties subject of this issue," Nograles said in a text message to House reporters.

"Personally I find this issue nitpicking in the sense that the congressman can well afford the assets attributed to him," he added.

"Besides, the SALN can be legally amended without liability if and when any oversight that is not substantial is discovered and or corrected. This matter is not really substantial except that Mikey is the president's eldest son."

"Otherwise, if he were not who he is, this issue won't even hit the news at all," 

No chance to explain?

The congressman said the investigative group did not give him opportunity to explain his SALN declarations.

“There is no truth to the claims of Vera Files. I would not reply to their query because in the first place, they have not contacted me. Vera Files did not try to reach me as they claimed,” he said.

“If they had, I would have taken time to talk to them,” he said.

He said his lawyers are ready to answer questions on his SALN declarations.

“If they still have doubts, they can sue me,” he said

In a rejoinder to Mikey issued on Monday, Vera Files stressed that it “stands by its assertion that it repeatedly tried to contact him by text and calls on his two mobile phones.”

It added that among the questions VERA Files sent to Mikey included:

• “Why did he transfer his Redwood City condominium to Angela before selling it in 2005?”
• “Why did he transfer the Foster City property to Angela?”

Vera Files said these questions came after their research showed that the Beach Way Park LLC did not appear in the official records of the San Mateo County Assessor’s Office and the Securities and Exchange Commissions of the U.S. and the State of California.

The assessor’s office lists and tracks official ownership of properties in the area for tax purposes, while Vera Files said the online database of the State of California “is updated weekly and is current as of Aug. 28, 2009.”

In his statement on Monday, Mikey said the Foster City property was accounted for in his SALN through his stake in Beach Way Park LLC.

Why Angela?

Transferring legal ownership of the US properties under the name of Angela, Mikey’s wife, seemed to be a consistent practice by Mikey and Dato.

Vera Files noted that when the Redwood City condominium was sold in September 2005, “information from the assessor’s office shows that Mikey also placed the deed…in his wife’s name before selling it.”

The timing of the sale and the transfer to Angela’s name were highlighted by the investigative journalists since these came at a time when “President Gloria Arroyo was facing impeachment charges for the “Hello, Garci” controversy.

The controversy involved wiretapped conversations that President Arroyo called up an election official while votes for the 2004 presidential elections were being counted.

A San Francisco-based lawyer confirmed that the transfer of the property’s ownership to a wife of a politician is dubious.

Ted Laguatan told ABS-CBN America News Bureau, “Naglagay ka ng malaking pera dito sa America pero tinatago mo yun sa publiko kaya nilipat sa pangalan ng asawa o ibang tao. Yan ang conclusion na binibigay dito ng mga korte saka ng ibang tao. (A public official invests his money in a property in America and transfers it to his wife’s name to keep away from prying eyes of the Filipino public.)”

He added that it is easy for foreigners to buy properties in California since laws on real estate transactions are not stringent. – by Carmela Fonbuena, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak; with a report from Ging Reyes, ABS-CBN America News Bureau.