MANILA, DECEMBER 9, 2011 (STAR)
COMMONSENSE By Marichu A. Villanueva - What goes around, comes
around.
Today is full circle for the former President and now Congresswoman from
Pampanga, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. She will be transferred to a court-approved
hospital detention at the state-run Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon
City from St. Luke's Medical Center in Global City, Taguig.
While this is taking place today here in our country, the Agence France Press
reported Israel's former president Moshe Katsav on Wednesday began a seven-year
jail sentence after being convicted on two counts of rape and other sexual
offenses committed during his tenure in office. The ex-Israeli President started
serving his jail sentence in Ma'asiyahu prison near Tel Aviv. He joins the
gallery of disgraced ex-Presidents all over the world.
A battery of lawyers of Mrs. Arroyo are still waging legal battle in courts
to press their client's original request to be placed under "house" arrest in
their family mansion in La Vista, Quezon City. This early, her lawyers have
already asked court's permission for a Christmas furlough for their ailing
client in the spirit of the season to spend this with her children and
grandchildren. Likewise, they are still pressing the court to allow the
congresswoman to use her laptop computer and cellular phones.
Charged with a non-bailable offense of electoral sabotage, government lawyers
are making sure ex-President Arroyo would go nowhere but be held here under
detention either in jail or in hospital while she is still recuperating from a
recent botched spine surgery.
Just a decade ago, Mrs. Arroyo threw everything to bring to jail deposed
President Joseph Estrada. Three months after being ousted from office in January
2001, ex-President Estrada, along with son, then San Juan Mayor and now Senate
president pro tempore, Jinggoy Estrada, were arrested at their house in Polk St.
in Greenhills, San Juan and taken straight to Camp Crame in Quezon City.
Stripped of power, Estrada and son went through police mug shots and
finger-printing for non-bailable plunder charges before a special court created
by the Sandiganbayan.
After a short detention in Crame, the two Estradas were transferred to
"barbed-wired" detention in Fort Sto. Domingo, Laguna.
The Estrada father and son were subsequently taken to "hospital detention" at
the Veterans. But in the case of Jinggoy, he was released on bail in 2004 and
was later acquitted. Riding on his still popular father's mass-based voters,
Jinggoy ran and won in the May 2004 Senate elections. Estrada, on the other
hand, was allowed to stay in detention at his own rest house in Tanay, Rizal
until his plunder conviction on September 12, 2007.
Fast forward. Judge Jesus Mupas of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court branch
112 issued last Nov. 18 a warrant of arrest against ex-President Arroyo. This
was shortly after receiving the electoral sabotage complaint filed against Mrs.
Arroyo for allegedly rigging the results in Maguindanao in favor of her
administration bets in the May 2007 senatorial elections.
The case against ex-President Arroyo was based on the recommendation of the
joint Department of Justice-Commission on Elections (Comelec) panel that
conducted the preliminary investigation. However, Arroyo lawyers have questioned
the legality and constitutionality of the joint DOJ-Comelec probe panel before
the Supreme Court (SC). The SC is still conducting oral arguments on this
petition and heard yesterday the side of government lawyers justifying its
creation.
While the hurriedly filed electoral sabotage case against the ex-President
still stands on shaky ground, government lawyers filed last week a plunder case
against her before the Office of the Ombudsman. In another non-bailable offense,
Mrs. Arroyo was named among the principal accused in the alleged diversion of
some P319 million of confidential intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity
Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
It is but natural to expect the plunder case against Mrs. Arroyo will
certainly get priority attention of the Ombudsman now headed by an appointee of
President Aquino. Retired SC associate justice and now Ombudsman Conchita
Carpio-Morales would naturally see to it they will not lose time to immediately
recommend whether or not the government case was able to establish probable
cause to file a formal plunder complaint against Mrs. Arroyo before the
Sandiganbayan.
In the meantime, the electronic bed reportedly brought in already at her
suite at Veterans is suited to the 64-year-old Mrs. Arroyo with her delicate
spine condition. The bathtub used by Estrada during his stay there and other
bathroom fixtures were reportedly replaced with new ones.
Arroyo's media-savvy lawyer Ferdinand Topacio appealed to the police not to
put handcuffs on Mrs. Arroyo during the transfer to Veterans. Topacio has been
overly dramatic in his press statements. Estrada was never handcuffed when he
was arrested.
If he and other legal counsels of Mrs. Arroyo have been diligently doing
their homework, they could have spared their client from being issued with
warrant of arrest in the first place. They should brush up on their court and
legal techniques and learn from ex-Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos, a
co-accused of Mrs. Arroyo in this electoral sabotage case.
A former judge himself, Abalos successfully foiled issuance of warrant of
arrest against him last Wednesday. Anticipating that formal charges would be
filed against him that day, Abalos voluntarily submitted himself before judge
Mupas and filed a motion for determination of probable cause. Hence, judge Mupas
had no choice but to observe this required due process as enshrined in the Bill
of Rights of the accused.
Now suffering for out-of-court antics of her lawyers, ex-President Arroyo
goes to Veterans, the very same place where she put Estrada — then suffering
serious kneecap problems — under hospital detention.
Topacio's out-of-court antics — like a bet to cut off one of his balls as
guarantee that his client is not a flight risk — was unnecessary, if not out of
order, your Honor.
"I was prejudged," Mrs. Arroyo lamented last night in a GMA-7 interview. She
now even sounded like ex-president Estrada!
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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