for house arrest
(The Philippine
Star) Updated November 25, 2011 10:11 AM Comments (124)
MANILA, Philippines - From a life threatening condition, former President and
now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's health is now improving and she can
now leave the hospital, her lawyers told the court this morning.
Lawyer Jose Flaminiano told Judge Jesus Mupas of the Pasay City Regional
Trial Court Branch 112 that from their earlier motion for hospital arrest, they
will now ask for Mrs. Arroyo to be put on house arrest.
In filing the motion for hospital arrest, the lawyers of Mrs. Arroyo
presented before the court a medical certificate, where her doctors said that
the former president is suffering from anorexia due to stress and back
pains.|
Clerk of court Joel Pelicano told reporters after the hearing that one of
Mrs. Arroyo's doctors, orthopedic surgeon Mario Ver, told the court the former
president is now "physically fit" to leave the hospital.
Raul Lambino, another lawyer of the former president, said that after filing
their motion for the continuation of the hospital arrest on Wednesday, the
doctors of Mrs. Arroyo told them that she can already be treated outside the
hospital.
"Considering there is marked improvement in the condition of the former
president... [The doctors said] she does not need to be treated in the hospital.
We have to truthful to the court and so we withdrew the [earlier motion] for
hospital arrest," Lambino said in a television interview.
He said that the motion to move Mrs. Arroyo to her residence was manifested
orally and they were given by the court until Tuesday next week to formally file
the petition.
Lambino added that they were expecting the lawyers of the Commission on
Elections (Comelec) not to pose objections to their appeal for house arrest,
banking on Justice Secretary Leila de Lima's promise last week.
Before Mrs. Arroyo was arrested on an electoral sabotage case, De Lima
announced that government prosecutors will not object if the former president
asks for house or hospital arrest.
Promise lapsed?
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, meanwhile, clarified that De
Lima's statement was "made in reference to the interim", meaning only for the
weekend after the former president's arrest on Friday.
Valte said that Malacañang will leave it up to the Comelec on whether to
object to Mrs. Arroyo's appeal for house arrest.
"We don't want to be perceived as putting pressure to the Comelec. Remember
the Comelec is an independent institution," she said.
De Lima also announced last week that President Benigno Aquino III strictly
ordered them to treat Mrs. Arroyo with utmost respect.
Jail or house?
In the press briefing, Pelicano hinted that the court may order Mrs. Arroyo
transferred to the detention facility that has been prepared by the Southern
Police District (SPD) or to her residence in Quezon City.
Pelicano said that lawyers representing the Comelec had asked during the
hearing that Mrs. Arroyo be moved to a government hospital. However, after the
"admission" of the defense that the former president is now "physically fit",
the prosecutors manifested that she should be moved to the police detention
facility.
He said that the Comelec lawyers were likewise given by the court until
Tuesday to submit a formal petition for Mrs. Arroyo's transfer to a detention
facility.
Pelicano said that the court had also told the two camps that they will be
given 10 days to reply to the separate motions. He said the court may be able to
decide on where Mrs. Arroyo should be transferred by the second week of
December.
The clerk of court, meanwhile, said that court has set aside other motions
that have been filed by both camps. He added that the court is "almost"
considering the Comelec's petition for the issuance of a hold-departure order
against Mrs. Arroyo as "moot and academic."
He explained that Mrs. Arroyo is currently under custody of the court and is
facing a non-bailable offense. He said she will not be allowed to leave
detention.
Claiming that she was on a life threatening situation and needs immediate
treatment by a foreign specialist, Mrs. Arroyo asked De Lima to be allowed to
leave and seek medical treatment abroad.
De Lima denied the request citing Health Secretary Enrique Ona's initial
findings that Mrs. Arroyo was already recovering.
The former president and her husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, attempted to leave
the country last week after the Supreme Court (SC) issued a temporary
restraining order (TRO) on the justice department's travel ban.
The former first couple, however, was prevented from boarding a flight to
Singapore on orders of De Lima, who insisted that the travel ban was still in
effect despite the TRO.
As the SC upheld the TRO, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) filed the
electoral sabotage case against Mrs. Arroyo last Friday. The former president
was served with a warrant of arrest on her hospital bed at the St. Luke's
Medical Center the same day.
The SC said that the arrest warrant moots the TRO for Mrs. Arroyo's travel
ban, but the restraining order remains effective for Mr. Arroyo, who is now
under investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman for graft in connection with
the Philippine National Police's anomalous purchase of second hand helicopters
in 2009. – With AP
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