[PHOTO COURTESY OF MANILA BULLETIN - A
GLIMPSE OF GLORIA: Her head obscured by a tarpaulin shade, former
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo takes a stroll outside her suite at
the Veterans Memorial Medical Center Saturday, December 17, 2011. Police
security personnel accompany Arroyo, while the face of her husband Jose
Miguel may be seen at right. See also Arroyo gets TV set for her
hospital suite (Photo by KJ ROSALES)]
MANILA,
DECEMBER 18, 2011 (STAR) By
Perseus Echeminada - Lawyers of former President and now Pampanga Rep.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo petitioned yesterday the Pasay City Regional
Trial Court (RTC) to allow their client to celebrate Christmas at home,
citing President Aquino's declaration of a truce with the New People's
Army (NPA) as a reason.
"If President Aquino declared a truce with the NPA to allow armed
rebels to celebrate Christmas at home, then there is no reason for the
government to deny the same privilege for the 'harmless' (former) head
of state. If the rebels are allowed to go home, then there is no reason
to deny such privilege to the former president," lawyer Jose Flaminiano
told Judge Jesus Mupas of RTC branch 112 during a hearing yesterday.
In their motion, the defense wanted a Christmas furlough for Arroyo
from Dec. 24 to Jan. 4 in her home at La Vista Subdivision in Quezon
City. The Commission on Elections (Comelec), however, opposed the
motion, arguing that transferring the former president from VMMC is a
security nightmare and she can celebrate Christmas at the government
hospital where she is detained.
But Flaminiano countered that the spirit of Christmas cannot be felt inside the VMMC compound.
"There is no place like home, the atmosphere is different. The home of the former president is very near," he said.
Flaminiano reminded the prosecution that even in times of war the celebration of Christmas was observed at the frontline.
The court, however, rejected the petition, along with the request for
Arroyo to have access to mobile phones and computers while in
detention.
Former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo branded the decision as "cruel" and "unjust."
"That's unjust and cruel specially since she is still innocent until
proven guilty and the evidence against her is so weak," Mr. Arroyo told
The STAR.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. earlier said Arroyo should be allowed
to use her mobile telephones and laptop computer to allow her to perform
her duties as a lawmaker.
He said he agreed with the position of House Minority Leader and
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman that their detained colleague must be allowed to
communicate with her constituents and continue performing her duties as
lawmaker.
Lagman earlier wrote a letter to Belmonte seeking his assistance on the matter.
"I agree with him (Lagman). She (Arroyo) should be allowed to
communicate (with her constituents). So far she is a detainee but she is
also a congresswoman and I think, it's not really going to greatly
affect the interest of the state, if she has a chance to communicate,"
Belmonte said.
Malacañang said it was up to the Pasay City RTC to decide on Arroyo's petition.
"This is the discretion of the trial judge. We are not privy to
whether the Comelec prosecution team will oppose the motion of the
former president for house arrest but we leave that to the discretion of
the trial judge," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press
briefing.
Arroyo can go 'sunbathing'
Prosecution lawyers, however, did not oppose the motion of the
defense for Arroyo to have radio and television sets inside her room and
the daily outdoor "sunbath."
The former president was also allowed to go to the chapel for daily prayers and also the extension of visiting hours.
The lawyers were also allowed to bring their laptops and cell phones
during their visit, but the ban on the use of the electronic devices
stays.
Arroyo has been allowed to go out of her suite and get some sunlight
after her VMMC physician, Dr. Victoria Javier, recommended yesterday
that the former leader should be exposed to morning sunlight.
Javier reportedly told Judge Mupas that the embattled former
president lacked vitamin D, which is essential so that calcium could be
processed in her system.
According to the source, the doctor told the court that Arroyo must
take advantage of the sun since the VMMC presidential suite, where she
is staying, faces east.
Lawyer Laurence Arroyo, the ex-president's legal counsel, said during
an interview with ANC that the Comelec did not pose any objection to
Arroyo's request to hear Mass and have time outside the VMMC
presidential suite.
"We are very thankful to the Comelec… I was quite surprised. We're
hoping that the court will take into consideration all our arguments,
which we believe are reasonable," the lawyer said.
He said they were still asking the court to allow the Pampanga lawmaker to spend Christmas at home.
"We don't see it as a break. (Under that setup) she remains in house
arrest. Whether at VMMC or at home, she's still a prisoner," he said.
The lawyer also said they were asking to extend the visiting period from the current Wednesday to Sunday to Tuesday to Sunday.
"We explained to the court that she is no ordinary citizen. She would
have more visitors and well wishers at the hospital," he said.
On Thursday night, 17 lawmakers allied with the former leader visited her for about three hours.
Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said they shared a meal of palabok, sapin-sapin and sugpo, among others.
When asked about the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona, Suarez said it was "barely" talked about during the gathering.
Migrante wants GMA in jail
Members of migrant organizations allied with the overseas Filipino
workers (OFWs) group Migrante held a picket-protest yesterday at the
gate of VMMC to demand Arroyo's accountability for "corrupting, misusing
and abusing funds of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration."
Overseas Filipinos and their families from Australia, Hong Kong,
Japan, South Korea, Macau, New Zealand, Taiwan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Qatar, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Italy,
Netherlands, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Canada and the United States
joined the protest.
"We demand that Arroyo be held accountable and give back to OFWs the
millions of dollars in OWWA funds she used for her personal and
political agenda. She deserves to be placed in a regular jail for her
plunder of OFWs' contributions and earnings," said Garry Martinez,
Migrante International chair.
The migrant workers also demanded a full audit of the OWWA funds and
immediate independent investigation of OWWA's overseas and home-based
officers in light of the Commission on Audit report that more than P21
million in OWWA collections were not remitted to OWWA's Land Bank-Manila
dollar account during the last 10 years.
Martinez said they have long been calling for an investigation of
OWWA funds, prompting Congress inquiries and several graft and plunder
cases filed at the Ombudsman and Department of Justice. – Reinir Padua, Aie Balagtas See, Paolo Romero, Aurea Calica
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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