Juan Country » Mikey Arroyo

No to Mikey Arroyo and his Party List

Carlo Ople — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:32:02 +0000

I’ve been trying to steer clear of any negative posts here at Juan Country but I can’t just help this one. I firmly believe that Mikey Arroyo is crossing the line with his recent move to run for Congress under the Ang Galing Pinoy party list which is supposed to represent security guards. In his defense, Arroyo says that it’s the right of the party list to nominate anyone that they want to represent them in the party. Excuse my language, but that’s just bullshit.

How the hell can someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth represent the interests of security guards? Does Mikey Arroyo even know how it feels to be a security guard? This guy is not only insulting the Philippine electoral system, but he’s also insulting all the security guards all over the country. I am one with Satur Ocampo and Lisa Maza who filed a disqualification case against the presidential son.

I hope that the disqualification case actually gets Mikey out because it will truly be a sad day for our electoral system if he’s allowed to run under the banner of security guards.

Mikey Arroyo is a liar

Carlo Ople — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 04:33:18 +0000

“There is no curse in elvish, entish, dwarvish, or the tongues of men that can describe this treachery.” – Tree Beard, Lord of the Rings

In the infamous interview with Arnold Clavio and Winnie Monsod, Presidential son and Cong. Mikey Arroyo said that his exponential jump of net worth was because of wedding gifts and campaign contributions when he run for Congress. In the interview it was shown that his 5M worth jumped to 76M, then 99M, then more than 120M. Here’s the interview for everyone’s “viewing” pleasure:

Mikey Arroyo’s Statement of Election Contributions and Expenditures for 2007 also came out in public and this is just plain bullshit (sorry for the words). I’ve been involved with more than 4 campaigns already as a consultant and I even became very active during my grandfather’s and father’s campaigns. According to this statement, Mikey spent just half a million to win a seat in Congress – and he spent every cent (which totally debunks his earlier statement saying that he earned from this).

Mikey Arroyo’s Statement of Election Contributions and Expenditures, 2007

What’s even more amazing about this is that no one is going after Mikey. Isn’t this the job of the Ombudsman?

We have to be more intelligent when we vote in 2010. The blatant disregard for law and the welfare of the Filipino people by our current government is sickening to the point that you just want to give up on this country. What’s important now is that we all learn from these experiences and make it a point to put forward a better agenda for the Philippines by electing the right leaders.

“Facebook and other like mediums should be regulated.” – Mikey Arroyo

Carlo Ople — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:33:56 +0000

Reacting to the photo of him buying liquor at Rustan’s the day after Ondoy, Rep. Mikey Arroyo lashed out against his critics and said that Facebook and other similar mediums should be regulated. In his response, Arroyo said that it was impossible for him to buy the liquor at the height of the storm because the roads were impassable. He goes on to explain that he was in Malacanang helping out in the relief operations for his constituents in Pampanga.

Let me just share some of my thoughts on this issue:

- The original caption of the picture said that he was spotted the day after Ondoy, not during the storm. Obviously no one would be out of their homes at the height of the typhoon.

- Facebook and other forms of social media regulated? Come on Mikey. Where are we? Iran? This is the Philippines for crying out loud! Think about doing this only when Martial Law is declared.

- His insinuation that bloggers and Facebook users are not helping in the relief operations is just plain stupid. The reason why volunteerism among the youth is so high is precisely because of the popularity of the internet and social networks.

- He says that stories like this are “masahol pa sa kwentong barbero.” Excuse me sir but there is not story that stinks more than your claim that your SALN is legit. Have you forgotten already about how Winnie Monsod ripped you apart on national television?

Here’s the article posted at the Daily Tribune:

Mikey lashes out at Facebook bloggers
09/30/2009

Presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo yesterday lashed out at bloggers of a popular Web site who posted his picture describing him as a callous public official busy shopping for alcoholic drinks even at the height of Typhoon “Ondoy’s” wrath last Saturday.

In a text message, the young Arroyo, though not denying it was him on the picture posted at Facebook, said it was rather impossible for him to stop by at Rustan’s Supermarket on Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City last Saturday to pick up some wines as the bloggers suggest as the street was rendered impassable by the floods. “My picture posted at Facebook with a caption saying I was busy shopping for wine at the height of Typhoon Ondoy is another malicious attack at my personality. It is so depressing,” Arroyo said. “How could that be possible that I was at Rustan’s on Katipunan Avenue at the height of Typhoon Ondoy when Katipunan Avenue was impassable at that time?”

The presidential son claimed at the height of the typhoon, he was at Malacañang Saturday with all members of his families helping mobilize rescue and relief operations for areas affected by the storm.

“On record, I was in Malacañang at that time with all my family trying to mobilize rescue and relief operations for people of Metro Manila and for my constituents in my district in Pampanga,” Arroyo said.

“It’s so unfortunate that while we were so busy then trying to help ease the sufferings of our kababayan, some people had the guts and the temerity to peddle malicious innuendos at the expense of others,” he added.

The Pampanag solon suggested instead of resorting to grandstanding gimmickry at his expense, the bloggers should also busy themselves helping their countrymen who are still reeling from the effects of the worst natural calamity the country had experienced in decades.

“Kahit ang anak ko namimigay ng relief goods. Sana sila din may nagawa para makatulong sa ating mga kababayan na naging biktima ng kalamidad. Diyos na ang bahala sa kanila,” Arroyo said. “Basta ako, I still have so many things to do to help our poor countrymen who were severely affected by Typhoon Ondoy. This is not the time to deal with people who are peddling half-truths and half-lies para lang sumikat.”

While acknowledging that blogging, the latest craze to hit the Internet, is an exercise of freedom of expression, Arroyo said he believes it should still be regulated as it has become more susceptible to abuses by unscrupulous people.

“Nonetheless, I hope that Facebook and other like mediums be regulated so they can never be subjected to abuse by some scrupulous people. Facebook is easily susceptible to abuses as people can easily hide their identities,” he stressed. “Masahol pa sila sa kwentong barbero.” Charlie V. Manalo

The reason why the picture got so popular and it went around the interwebs is precisely because the people are so concerned with the relief operations that they got insulted when they saw what was in the photo. If I may quote an article published on ABS-CBN Interactive:

It was difficult not to get involved. Two days before, on Saturday, those of us online received word of stranded friends in Ateneo after Katipunan Avenue succumbed to a deluge, rendering the road impassable.

Ondoy then was starting to flood the metro, at a rate that would soon be marked as one of the fastest in Philippine history.

Friends stranded in Ateneo, and even we who were safe at home, lost their cellphone signals, and resorted to posting status messages on our Plurk, Twitter, and Facebook accounts.

In my case, my Facebook was flooded with messages and status updates of friends requesting that we contact their families to see if they were safe, and vice versa.

While I feared for my friends who were stranded, and those who had family members missing, I was equally thankful for those kind souls who offered help on the Web.

Before I knew it, Facebook became a live, updated stream not of quiz results or game updates, but rather of Ateneans — and non-Ateneans, too — helping each other contact family members, sending calls for rescue, or soliciting donations for the relief operations that were immediately established in our student leadership center.

This is the same building where our stranded schoolmates slept for the night.

If you compiled all the updates on Facebook, you would not even need to read the news websites. Everything was there: everyone was posting snippets of information; everyone was telling each other where a person could be found; everyone was recommending what would be the best way to help, or otherwise searching for a way.

A friend who’s now a reporter for TV posted in his Facebook that it was a great time to be a journalist at this time of crisis, when there are a lot of people that can’t immediately be reached by the government and would thus need media intervention.

If by any chance his office or Mikey himself gets to read this post, let me extend an invitation to have coffee with him. In fact, I can even organize a blogger event for him for free. I’d love to meet the guy in person and hear what he has to say face-to-face about all of the issues thrown his way. I’ll also take advantage of that opportunity to brief him about social media and the internet.

UPDATE: Here’s an excerpt of an article that was recently posted on Inquirer.Net:

“My picture was posted on Facebook with a caption saying I was shopping for wine at the height of [Storm] ‘Ondoy.’ [This] is another malicious attack on my person. It is so depressing,” Arroyo wrote in an e-mail response to the Facebook post which has appeared in several blogs.

The original post had the following caption: “Was buying food for keeps… then we saw Mikey Arroyo in Rustan’s liquor section asking the salesman for a brand of hard alcoholic drink. Effin’ crazy! Just a few kilometers away from Katipunan, people are needing help for search and rescue, and there he was buying bottles of alcohol. See for yourself and tell me what you think.”

The picture showed a man’s profile with his back to the viewer looking at rows of alcohol inside what appears to be a liquor store.

Mikey Arroyo buys Liquor during Ondoy

Carlo Ople — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:54:17 +0000

Storm “Ondoy” has literally devastated several parts of the Philippines. According to reports on the Inquirer, the storm brought in rains equal to that of a month all in a span of a few hours. That’s the main reason why a lot of areas got flooded. In fact, Ondoy was so bad it beat Katrina which leveled several cities in the US. Other than the disaster this calamity brought, what disturbs me the most is this picture taken of what looks likeRep. Mikey Arroyo the day after Ondoy. In this picture he’s in a liquor store in Katipunan buying alcohol.

Photo courtesy of (Author requested to be anonymous) on Facebook.

Author’s Note: The person who posted the picture has asked me to take down the pic because she and her family are worried for their safety and security. She has already removed the picture from her Facebook account. I’ve already advised her that if at any point someone harasses her or her family she should give me a call and I can refer them to people who can help.

The picture is a bit blurry so I can’t really say 100% that this is actually Mikey Arroyo. However, if this is true this has got to be one of the worst things a government official can do during a disaster like this! In fact, he shouldn’t even be in Manila. Pampanga, his home district, is one of the provinces that was hit pretty bad by Ondoy. I can’t think of an excuse for him at all… well… maybe he’s giving out Tequila for relief goods?

A Call for Reform: Fire Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez

Carlo Ople — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:07:24 +0000

A few days ago Rep. Mikey Arroyo showed to the world how corrupt, devious, and immoral their family has become when he miserably tried to defend his SALN declarations during an interview on GMA 7 with Winnie Monsod and Arnold Clavio. If we were in a different country, Arroyo would be facing charges and cases from the office of the Ombudsman right now. However instead of filing cases, the Ombudsman does the unthinkable – they release stricter guidelines for obtaining SALN’s. Instead of defending the Filipino people, the office of the Ombudsman would rather shield corrupt officials from getting exposed? Is this how low our justice system has sunk? Whatever to the basic ideals of justice, decency, and integrity?

This blog post is a call for reform! This blatant disrespect of our intelligence and morals is so offensive that I can’t help but voice out my disgust and anger towards Gutierrez and her office. However I think this will just fall on deaf ears since I believe that the current administration will do everything in their power to keep Merceditas Gutierrez on board since she’s actually protecting their interests over that of the Filipino people.

It’s just depressing to see how the system is being abused by the administration. The office of the Ombudsman is supposed to be a bastion of truth but now it’s nothing more than a shell of it’s former self. I remember Senator Chiz Escudero saying that one of his biggest complaints against this administration is that it has successfully degraded and destroyed a lot of institutions in government just to protect their crimes. This is definitely one of the biggest examples we will ever see.

Rep. Mikey Arroyo’s interview clearly shows that his family has been stealing and hoarding tax payer’s money over the past few years. What’s sad is that no one is actually taking action against it – and the people that should be going after him are actually the ones protecting him.

Ms. Gutierrez, have you no conscience? Aren’t you afraid on how history will judge you because of what you’ve done or failed to do? Does your penchant for protecting the corrupt know no bounds? Have you no shame? If you’re too insensitive to the Filipino people, don’t forget that your sins will be the sins that your children and their children’s children because they carry your name. I am begging you to prove me wrong. Please give us a reason to believe again in the office of the Ombudsman.

Here’s the article on Inquirer.Net:

MANILA, Philippines — Leftwing group Kilusang Mayo Uno slammed the Office of the Ombudsman for issuing new rules on the release of statements of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALNs), saying it is only meant to protect corrupt public officials.

In a statement, KMU said the new rules, which require “legitimate” reasons for requesting SALNs, run contrary to its instituted task of ensuring transparency and investigating high-level corruption in government.

The group was referring to Memorandum Circular No. 1 issued June 17 by Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. It revises guidelines for obtaining access to copies of SALNs.

“The Ombudsman should stick to its mandate of investigating wrongdoings committed by the highest officials in the country and stop being an errand girl of Malacañang,” said KMU Chairperson Elmer Labog.

“It says that its new rules are aimed at protecting everyone, from the president of the country to the lowly janitor. We know better: These were created precisely to protect the Arroyo family,” Labog said.

The new rule, he added, is also meant to stop the media from scrutinizing the lifestyle of public officials.

“It says that its new rules did not arise because of the public outcry over the content of investigative reports on the wealth of the Arroyos. We know better: Come on! The Ombudsman cannot even deceive the public that it’s unbiased towards the Arroyos,” he said.

The memorandum listed the following conditions SALNs could be released:

• When the requested SALN is needed in school for study purposes;

• When the same is disseminated to the general public by news and communication media; and

• Upon a court subpoena duly signed by a presiding judge in a pending criminal case or in the case of another quasi-judicial agency.

It is cases like this that shows how critical the 2010 election is for the nation. We need a President that will not turn a blind eye to things like this. We need a moral force leading our country. This leads me to Ninoy Aquino’s famous line in his letter to his only son, Noynoy: Live with honor and follow your conscience.

To the Arroyo family: history will not be kind to you unless you realize how equally important integrity is with a good economy. It’s funny how the Press Secretary says that GMA is getting low ratings because of how loud the opposition is. But you can’t really blame the opposition! The Arroyo family is giving them so many bullets to use against them. Where there is smoke, there is fire.

I will not vote for a President, VP, Senator, or any local government official who will not support moves to investigate and maybe even prosecute the Arroyo family for their irregularities while they were in power. That much I am sure.

Aga Mulach speaks out against bad governance

Carlo Ople — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:57:35 +0000

This video has been circulating on Facebook again for the past few weeks. If I’m not mistaken, this was taken around 2007-2008 during an episode of Straight Talk with Cito Beltran. This is a rare occurrence of a famous movie star expressing venting his frustration on what’s happening with his country. It’s a real touching and human moment to see him speak like this. I think it’s really timely to watch this again seeing as the 2010 Presidential elections is just around the corner.

Just some of the quotes that I liked a lot:

Ang daming milyon or bilyon ang umiikot, naitatago, nakukupit. Ba’t nakakalagpas?

Nakikita ko talaga sa atin deterioration. Sa lahat. Sa itsura, sa serbisyo.

Kayo, kaya kayo nakaupo diyan para ayusin ang Pilipinas! Andami pera wag nyo sabihin na walang pera.

Watching this video really reminded me a lot of the Arroyo family, most especially Congressman Mikey Arroyo.

Thank God for Winnie Monsod

Carlo Ople — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:42:12 +0000

In an interview this morning with Winnie Monsod and Arnold Clavio, Rep. Mikey Arroyo literally got butchered on national television during prime time. Just as a background for those who are not aware about the issue, Mikey Arroyo was exposed by a group of journalists when he didn’t declare a multi-million dollar beachfront property in the United States. Mikey Arroyo came out with a barrage of press releases claiming his innocence. However in the interview with Winnie Monsod, Mikey literally committed media suicide.

This for me was the winning exchange that really showed the true colors of the son of the President.

“And I believe many public officials do this also. We can put properties under a company name, as long as we declare the company.” -Mikey Arroyo

“Ganyan ginagawa nila ngayon. They hide it.” – Winnie Monsod

“That’s not hiding. It’s a legal way of teaching us on how to do our SAL.” – Mikey Arroyo

I’m sure that his parents were watching this and they probably both smacked themselves in the forehead after seeing their son make a fool of himself in front of millions of Filipinos who were watching the program.

Here are video clips of the interview which were posted on Youtube for everyone’s viewing “pleasure”:

Congressmen should amend the law so that politicians can’t get away with blatant corrupt practices like this one. They’re literally misleading the nation making it look like that they are poor but when in truth they’re pocketing millions of taxpayer money.

We don’t need a sophisticated President in 2010. We just need someone who will just make sure EVERYONE FOLLOWS THE LAW. Grabe na to!

Rep. Mikey Arroyo: No Dignity in Eating in Mcdonald’s or Turo-turo

Carlo Ople — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 02:36:35 +0000

I’ve refrained from talking about this particular issue however I can’t help but give a comment now. Apparently Rep. Mikey Arroyo tried to defend his mother for eating at expensive restaurants ($20,000 tab) while in the US for her meeting with President Obama. In last night’s episode of TV Patrol, Rep. Mikey Arroyo asked this question to the media – “Do you want your President to eat in Mcdonald’s or some turo-turo?” I’m sorry but the Arroyo family desperately needs a good Public Relations Manager or Consultant. The son of the President probably just insulted more than 90% of the Filipino population with that comment.

Here’s the video clip of the interview. Note that the audio and video are kinda out of sync.

If you delve deeper into the issue, the problem is not just the $20,000 dinner. The problem here is how insensitive and detached this current administration is from the actual state of the country. It’s as if they’re living in a parallel universe where everything is a-okay. Instead of humbling themselves and letting this issue pass, they all just have to shoot off their mouths as if the Filipino people owes it to them to eat at Le Cirque.

A good friend of mine from the PR industry shared this to me while we were talking about this issue this morning:

The best and most effective way to increase this administration’s approval rating is to get a stapler and use it on the mouths of Rep. Mikey Arroyo, Rep. Nograles, and Sec. Raul Gonzales.

I know for a fact that some people here in the Philippines don’t mind the $20,000 bill, especially since the one who paid for it was Rep. Romualdez. What’s probably turning them off now is how the government is reacting to the issue. It’s as if they are intentionally burying themselves deeper and deeper into a black hole!

Senator Chiz Escudero was spot on when he said that this government has no heart and that it lacks compassion. We need a leader that can inspire us into believing into the greatness of the Filipino. This current administration even appears to be looking down on us.

Thanks to my office buddy Joey for sharing this with me.