Mar to rivals: Reveal sources of logistical support

A candidate with nothing to hide will not hesitate to reveal his or her providers of logistics including private aircraft, Liberal Party presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II said yesterday as he challenged his rivals to identify their backers as soon as possible.

Roxas issued the call after being embroiled in a controversy over the use of private jets and helicopters owned by a close friend and mining businessman Eric Gutierrez.

“If you have nothing to hide, why wait until after the elections?” Roxas said, apparently referring to Sen. Grace Poe and her runningmate Sen. Francis Escudero, who have promised to reveal the identities of their campaign supporters only after the elections, specifically in their Statements of Contributions and Expenditures to be submitted to the Commission on Elections.

Poe said the planes they were using in the campaign were either rented or lent by friends.

However, she said they could not reveal their names yet to avoid releasing inaccurate information of people and companies.

“I’ve already made known my sources, so why don’t they?” Roxas said, even as he maintained that he was paying for the lease of the aircraft provided by Gutierrez.

Roxas said even when he was still secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, he personally paid for use of aircraft for his provincial visits.

“That is how Mar Roxas works. Even before when I was not yet a candidate, I paid for my use of aircraft. I didn’t use taxpayers’ money for it,” he said.

Roxas said his use of a mining firm’s private aircraft is not for free, and is therefore not a favor. Election laws prohibit candidates from securing campaign support from certain industries, including mining.

“I can assure you that the money I use to pay for it does not come from public funds,” he said.

Earlier, The STAR columnist Jarius Bondoc wrote that Gutierrez had provided Roxas with eight aircraft for his campaign sorties.

He said Roxas and other candidates of the administration coalition are using a Citation Mustang worth $2.5 million, Citation CJ4 worth $9 million, Cessna Sovereign ($ 19 million), four Cessna Caravans, each worth $2.5 million; and a Bell 429 helicopter worth $6.5 million.

According to Bondoc, Gutierrez is part owner of SR Metals Inc. and its subsidiaries San R Minin and Galeo Mining Equipment Corp. He said LP spokesman and Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice is a partner of Gutierrez in the mining companies, which have been involved in legal issues.