HANDLING GMA / GMA HAD BIOPSY TESTS
MANILA, NOVEMBER 28,
2011 (STAR) By Christina Mendez - 'Due process must be
observed in GMA case'. Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Gregorio Honasan
appealed for sobriety yesterday among those involved in the case of former
President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and urged them to
observe due process instead.
"Let us follow the process. We should respect the Supreme Court and the
president, our former president," said Santiago who called on all concerned
persons in government.
Santiago said those in power today should always put in mind that they will
not be in power forever.
"Now, do they want others to do to them what they are doing now (to a former
president)? Let us not put someone in shame. If they want, they can file charges
and present evidence," Santiago added.
Honasan said the process of the courts as well as the SC should be respected.
He said he does not want any more conflict arising from the perceived clash
between the executive and the judiciary.
Honasan added that the issue at hand is the timing of the executive actions
and the rulings of the Supreme Court.
He said even the Senate Blue Ribbon committee's further hearings on the
election fraud issue may also add to the confusion, and that he does not want
anybody to be placed under trial by publicity.
Honasan said the public might get confused by the different outcomes from the
courts and the Senate hearings as well as those from the justice department.
"If we will entertain that, even our judicial system up to the highest court
will be politicized. Ayokong isipin yan dahil hihina ang ating demokrasya,"
Honasan said over radio dzBB. (That would weaken our democracy).
EU monitoring case
Santiago warned the Aquino administration that efforts that tend to humiliate
Mrs. Arroyo might get the attention of the international community, especially
the European Union.
Santiago said the administration should be very careful in persecuting the
former president.
She the international community observes the trial of former presidents who
are slapped with charges shortly after their terms.
"That's why we are very, very careful that the government will not say at the
very start, that we are already bent on convicting her or finding her guilty. We
should be fair. At the very start, although she can be detained, she still
enjoys presumption of innocence," Santiago said.
"Kaya sabi ng European body, hindi bali kung ano kasalanan nibista ninyo pero
huwag ninyo ipahiya masyado. Humiliation will result in a damaged democracy,"
said Santiago, who is a candidate for a post at the International Criminal
Court. (Okay to charge them but not humiliate them).
Amid talks whether Mrs. Arroyo should be allowed house arrest or hospital
arrest, Santiago said there is still a need for prosecutors to establish that
the case filed against the former chief executive is strong.
"First of all, there has to be a showing that the evidence of guilt is
strong. Before the hearing is set against Mrs. Arroyo, there is what you call a
bail hearing. This is a hearing where the evidence against her will be weighed
and determined if they are strong," Santiago said.
"If the evidence are weak, there is a need to bolster evidence. If she can
post bail, she is free. If she is not allowed to post bail, then we can start
talking where she should be detained," Santiago added.
Santiago said that the judge has the final say on where Mrs. Arroyo should be
detained if she is not allowed to post bail.
Honasan allayed speculations that recent developments may affect the morale
of the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
He said it is unnecessary for President Aquino, as commander-in-chief, to
even call for a loyalty check among the uniformed personnel.
"It's totally unwarranted… we should deal with other issues that are more
important for our nation," Honasan said.
Pasay RTC officials to inspect SPD
The officials of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court handling the electoral
sabotage case against Mrs. Arroyo will inspect today the supposed detention cell
of the former president at the Southern Police District (SPD) in Taguig.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) had filed a motion seeking Arroyo's
immediate transfer to a local jail, preferably at the facility of the SPD, after
her doctors testified that she is now fit to leave hospital.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima last Saturday said Arroyo's lawyers have not
presented enough evidence to support her bid for house arrest.
"This is for the court's consumption. Kailangan makita kung okay ba itong
detention facility, considering na dating president kailangan medyo may konting
kaluwagan (It must be ascertained that the detention facility is okay;
considering that she is a former president, we must observe leniency)," said
Sheriff Rodelio Buenviaje of Pasay Regional Trial Court 112 about the
inspection.
Buenviaje said there's still no exact time for the inspection to be conducted
by Judge Jesus Mupas and his court staff at the SPD head quarters in Fort
Bonifacio.
Aside from the detention room, the court will also inspect the Veterans
Memorial Hospital in Quezon City.
Last Friday, the Comelec's lead prosecutor Maria Juana Valesa moved for
Arroyo's transfer to SPD after one of her three doctors attested
that she is "medically fit" to leave the hospital.
Dr. Mario Ver told Mupas that Arroyo is now recovering and could be treated
as an outpatient. Her full recovery is expected after several weeks, he added.
The orthopedic surgeon testified three days after he was quoted by Arroyo's
spokesman Raul Lambino as saying that another problem in Arroyo's lower spine
has been found.
In an earlier interview, SPD spokesman Chief Inspector Jenny Tecson said the
detention room had been prepared. Police had given assurance that Arroyo will be
treated with "outmost respect and dignity" befitting a former president.
Arroyo's possible detention room is a 4-meter by 10-meter air-conditioned
room located on the ground floor of the SDP main building.
The room, painted blue and white, was furnished with a wooden bed with a foam
mattress, a desk, and a bamboo sala set. It is also located near a bathroom.
A plywood divider will be installed to separate her bed from the receiving
area.
The room offers a good view of the SPD grandstand surrounded by trees but
occasionally, the sound of gunfire may be heard from a nearby firing range.
With Aie Balagtas See
Former President Arroyo undergoes colonoscopy By
Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated November 28, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo underwent colonoscopy at the St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC)
in Taguig City after she continued to experience bouts of diarrhea that started
last week, her husband revealed yesterday.
Former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo disclosed the procedure on his wife
as her lawyers are expected to file tomorrow a formal motion before the Pasay
Regional Trial Court to allow the former leader to be placed under house arrest
after she was charged with the non-bailable offense of electoral sabotage by a
joint Commission on Elections-Department of Justice (Comelec-DOJ) panel last
Nov. 18.
"She's (Arroyo) again attached to an IV (tube) after she underwent
colonoscopy because of some recurring infections (in her intestines). The
doctors said they will conduct a biopsy," Mr. Arroyo said in a telephone
interview.
He said doctors also removed a tissue for the biopsy.
Mrs. Arroyo complained of diarrhea a few days after immigration personnel
prevented her and her husband from leaving the country to seek medical treatment
abroad last Nov. 15. She went to the SLMC that day to secure a final clearance
from her doctors to travel abroad.
As it turned out, she remained there and was subsequently served a warrant of
arrest by the police.
Mrs. Arroyo's lawyer, Raul Lambino, said even if she wanted to leave the
hospital immediately, the Pasay RTC is the only one that can decide on her
movements, particularly, where she would be detained after her discharge from
the SLMC.
"She's under the custody of the courts," he said, adding that the legal team
will file a formal motion seeking a house arrest for her tomorrow before Pasay
RTC Branch 112 Judge Jesus Mupas.
"We also expect the judge to ask the prosecutors to file their comment. So
this (legal process) may take some days," he said.
Lambino added that Mrs. Arroyo could continue her therapy in her house in La
Vista, Quezon City as she had been doing in the past.
He said the only reason she went back to the SLMC was to undergo a final
checkup and her condition deteriorated because of the humiliating incident at
the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
He suspects that the sudden change in the stand of Malacañang to oppose a
hospital or house arrest was connected to the recent Supreme Court ruling to
award lands to farm worker-beneficiaries of the Hacienda Luisita owned by the
maternal side of President Aquino's family, the Cojuangcos.
He recalled that in 2005, Mrs. Arroyo ordered the revocation of the stock
distribution option (SDO) for tenants of the Hacienda Luisita and the immediate
distribution of the land, which earned the ire of the Cojuangco family.
"We firmly believe that the motive of P-Noy in going after PGMA with more
intensity to persecute her are vindictiveness and personal vendetta. The recent
Supreme Court decision got the ire of P-Noy and the Aquino-Cojuangco family with
PGMA at the receiving end of their fury. This is the reason why government
changed its earlier offers of hospital or house arrest and is taking a hardline
position to detain PGMA in SPD (Southern Police District) or city jail," Lambino
said.
He added that they are expecting "more fabricated charges being cooked by
P-Noy to be filed against PGMA following the government's propaganda lines as
offshoots of the Hacienda Luisita ruling."
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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rights reserved
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