NEED TO MOVE GMA TO JAIL
MANILA, FEBRUARY 4, 2012
(INQUIRER) By Miko Morelos, Nancy C. Carvajal The Department of
Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police have
decided to extend former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's hospital detention,
according to the director of Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC), where she
is being held.
"She does not have to be confined, but taking into consideration other
factors like security in her daily trip to the hospital, a decision made by the
DILG and PNP [said] she could stay at the hospital [for the duration of her
therapy]," Dr. Nona Legaspi on Friday told the Inquirer in a phone interview.
"On our part, we also do not want her to miss her daily therapy," Legaspi
said.
Even Dr. Antonio Sison, a government orthopedic surgeon overseeing Arroyo's
condition expressed preference for her continued stay at VMMC on grounds that
she required continuous monitoring and close supervision.
But Sison also said Arroyo could be treated as "an outpatient"—a position
held by Commission on Elections (Comelec) prosecutors who had asked that her
fitness be verified by the Pasay City court in the hope that it could order her
transfer from the government hospital to a regular detention cell in the
process.
The court has also yet to rule on Arroyo's request for permission to attend
the wake and funeral of her husband's brother, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio
Arroyo, who died late last month in London.
Hospital stay 'better'
Arroyo, now a Pampanga representative, is under hospital arrest for the
nonbailable charge of electoral sabotage.
She is accused of ordering the rigging of the 2007 senatorial elections in
Maguindanao, along with former Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and former election
supervisor Lintang Bedol. Arraignment is scheduled on Feb. 20.
"It is better for [Arroyo] to be … at the hospital," Sison said on Friday at
the court hearing her electoral sabotage case when asked if he thought she
should be moved to a regular detention facility.
He added that Arroyo was taking a lot of medicines and undergoing daily
intensive physical therapy.
But when asked if the rehabilitation was possible with Arroyo as an
outpatient, Sison, a visiting consultant at VMMC, said: "I think so."
He declined interview requests from reporters after the hearing.
Legaspi said that VMMC in Quezon City hospital had the capacity and
capability to continue to treat Arroyo, and that her therapy could last from six
months to one year.
'Not cured'
Under questioning by election prosecutor Charlie Yap, Sison gave an
assessment of Arroyo, which was contained in a one-page report he submitted to
the court on Wednesday.
Copies of Arroyo's medical reports were obtained by the Inquirer on Friday
morning.
As far as Sison's field of specialization is concerned, Arroyo continues to
be afflicted with cervical spondylosis and lumbar spine stenosis, two diseases
initially diagnosed by doctors at St. Luke's Medical Center where she was
confined for months last year.
Despite three surgeries that were done last year to fuse a portion of her
spine, Arroyo was "not completely cured" because some of the nerves in her spine
still experience occasional compression, according to Sison.
"The objective of fusing the spine was completed, but she is not cured. She
needs to be closely supervised in her daily routine," he said.
The pressure on the nerves explains Arroyo's neck pain, which "extends to her
left shoulder and arm with finger numbness in both hands," Sison added in his
report.
A similar compression of the patient's nerves in the lower back, on the other
hand, accounts for the recurrent back pain that extends to her left side, down
to her foot and toes, another assessment of Arroyo's doctor showed.
Specific dates required
Prosecutors led by Ma. Juana Valeza, division chief at the Comelec, did not
object to Arroyo's request to attend her brother-in-law's wake. But she said the
court should "specifically" be informed of the dates and time covered by the
furlough request.
Valeza said the government understood that a family mourned together whenever
a member's death occurred. She asked the defense, however, to inform Arroyo that
she should shoulder the costs of her furlough with regard to her security and
travel.
Judge Jesus Mupas said he would resolve the request once defense lawyers
presented the specific dates and times of Arroyo's attendance at the memorial
services.
Defense counsel Ray Montri Santos issued the commitment that his client would
not travel as far as Negros Occidental, the province that the late lawmaker
represented in Congress.
Erap: No need to put GMA in jail By RG Cruz,
ABS-CBN News Posted at 02/03/2012 10:06 AM | Updated as of 02/03/2012 5:53
PM
MANILA, Philippines - Former president Joseph Estrada on Friday said
he sees no need to move jailed former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to a
regular prison.
"I think she can continue to be held in hospital arrest not because she is a
former president because I myself suffered being incarcerated in a regular
prison but because she is a woman. It's not out of respect for a former
president because no one is above the law but maybe we can afford some leniency
because she is a woman," Estrada said.
Estrada was ousted from the presidency after a four-day bloodless revolt in
January 2001. He was jailed and later found guilty of plunder but granted
executive clemency by his successor, Arroyo.
Arroyo is currently facing electoral sabotage charges. She is under hospital
arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.
FROM THE PHILSTAR
Erap supports GMA stay at Veterans By Jose Rodel
Clapano (The Philippine Star) Updated February 04, 2012 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Former President Joseph Estrada supported yesterday the
continued stay of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).
Estrada, who was also jailed at the VMMC while the Sandiganbayan Special
Court was trying his plunder case, said the court should show Arroyo some
leniency being a woman.
"I think she can continue to be held in hospital arrest, not because she is a
former president, because I myself suffered being incarcerated in a regular
prison, but because she is a woman," he said.
Maintaining that no one is above the law, the former leader, who was booted
out of office in 2001 and imprisoned for plunder for six and a half years, added
that showing Arroyo some compassion by allowing her to remain under hospital
arrest would not erase the essence that the law is applicable to all.
Estrada was first held in Camp Crame then transferred to Sta. Rosa, before
being moved to VMMC after three years of regular imprisonment and only placed
under house arrest during the last two years of his incarceration.
He said he does not want Arroyo to suffer what he suffered.
Arroyo is presently undergoing therapy at the VMMC.
The Pasay Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 112 deferred ruling on the motion
filed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seeking to transfer her from the
hospital to a regular jail facility.
Former first gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, meanwhile, appealed to RTC
Judge Jesus Mupas to heed the recommendation of his wife's doctors that she
needs to remain at the VMMC.
"I hope the judge will favorably consider the recommendations of the doctors.
They are from the VMMC," Mike said in a telephone interview.
He said his wife is undergoing almost daily physical therapy and is also
required to wear a stiff corset for extended periods.
GMA followers call for dignified treatment
During yesterday's trial, Antonio Sison, VMMC orthopedic consultant,
testified before the sala of Judge Mupas that after three major surgeries, the
former president is not completely cured and needs close supervision on her
daily therapy at the hospital.
He said it would take six to eight months for her spinal column to heal
completely.
"Given her present condition it is better that she be treated in the hospital
because of daily therapy and other medical needs," he said, adding that the
former president will need lifetime maintenance treatment.
Outside the court, at least 500 people calling themselves "Kongreso ng
Maralita" converged at the Pasay City hall grounds to express their sympathy for
Arroyo.
Ang Galing party-list Rep. Mikey Arroyo was seen with the group but declined
to answer questions regarding the health of his mother.
When pressed for a statement, the younger Arroyo referred the reporters to
the leader of the group, Ramon de Leon.
Sison said they have reviewed the past medical records and conducted an
assessment, which showed that Arroyo has not been fully cured and signs of
arthritis were found in her spinal column.
He explained that the bone illness of the patient affects the spinal column,
which serves as the nerve center of the body directly connected to the brain.
Sison was presented as witness by the Comelec to support their motion for the
transfer of the former president from VMMC to a regular jail facility in Metro
Manila.
The Comelec lawyers were assisted by Department of Justice assistant state
prosecutor Maria Herrera.
The court earlier ordered VMMC to submit a medical report on the actual
health condition of the patient.
Sison is part of a five-man medical team that is conducting daily medical
checkup and therapy on the former president.
The other doctors – Rafaelita Javier, Victoria Javier, Martha Nocum and Ruben
Cardinas – were also present during the hearing.
The court postponed the hearing to Feb. 9 for the resumption of the
cross-examination of Sison and the presentation of another witness to support
their motion that the former president be transferred to a jail facility and
treated as an outpatient.
The protesters, mostly women with their children, displayed placards asking
for temporary liberty for the former president.
"Laya muna habang linilitis (Freedom while trial is ongoing)," one placard
read.
The group also called for dignified treatment of Arroyo as former head of
state, then peacefully dispersed at around 11 a.m. after the hearing. – Perseus Echeminada, Paolo Romero
Chief News Editor: Sol
Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE
NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS
ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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