GMA VISITS 'IGGY'S WAKE AT LA VISTA
[PHOTO - Photo
released by the family shows former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and
husband Mike viewing the remains of Representative Iggy Arroyo during his wake
at the Arroyos' ancestral house at La Vista in Quezon City. Iggy Arroyo died
last month at a London hospital. ABS-CBN Photo:
Handout]
MANILA,
MARCH 3, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By
Dennis Carcamo - Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo went out of detention
and returned to La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City, this morning to visit the
wake of her late brother-in-law former Negros Occidental representative Ignacio
"Iggy" Arroyo.
Though not in handcuffs, Mrs. Arroyo arrived at the residence of the late
legislator this morning under heavy guard.
"She arrived a little past 8 this morning," lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, one of
the counsels of the former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, said.
Topacio said there are at least 40 uniformed policemen around the perimeter
of the Arroyo residence in La Vista, with members of the media only allowed at
the gate of the posh subdivision.
Mrs. Arroyo was escorted by several heavily armed policemen from her
detention facility at the Veteran's Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon
City to La Vista to attend the wake.
Topacio said Mrs. Arroyo will be transported back to VMCC detention facility
around 4 p.m.
Pasay City Regional Trial Court branch 112 Judge Jesus Mupas earlier granted
Mrs. Arroyo's request to attend the wake but limited it to just 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Mrs. Arroyo's lawyers requested the court to extend the visit to the wake
from Mar 1 to 3, but the Commission on Elections legal team opposed it, saying
it would already be a furlough.
The Comelec has filed electoral sabotage case against Mrs. Arroyo and former
members of the poll body for the alleged massive vote manipulation results
during the 2007 national elections.
The body of the late congressmen will remain at the Arroyo ancestral house
until March 3. From there, the body will be brought to the conjugal house of the
congressman and his estranged wife, Aleli, still inside the La Vista
Subdivision.
The congressman's body will also be brought to the House of Representatives
building and then flown to Bacolod City for a three-day wake. It will be flown
back to the La Vista ancestral home for the interment on March 9.
The body will be buried at the Manila North Cemetery.
FROM THE INQUIRER
Arroyo presides over Iggy's wake in La Vista By
Nancy C. Carvajal, Tina G. Santos, TJ Burgonio Philippine Daily Inquirer
[PHOTO -STRICTLY PRIVATE: Former President Gloria Arroyo, out of
detention on an eight-hour furlough, attends the wake of her brother-in-law Rep.
Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo at the Arroyo ancestral residence in La Vista, Quezon
City, on Thursday. At left is her son, Rep. Mikey Arroyo. CHONA YU / RADYO INQUIRER]
The "two widows" came to mourn separately, avoiding any confrontation, as the
remains of the late Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo were
finally brought to the family's ancestral home after a bitter legal battle in
London over who should claim his body.
And so for a few hours Thursday, it was former President and now Pampanga
Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who presided over the wake of her
brother-in-law at La Vista subdivision in Quezon City.
Thanks to an arrangement agreed upon with a court, fears of any confrontation
between Iggy's estranged wife Aleli and longtime partner Grace Ibuna did not
materialize.
The ailing Arroyo was able to attend her brother-in-law's wake only after
obtaining an eight-hour furlough from her detention at Veterans Memorial Medical
Center (VMMC), where she awaits trial for electoral sabotage.
In the ancestral home, as in the old days, Arroyo played host to her
political allies in a kind of "reunion," accepting their condolences and hosting
a lunch for them.
Wearing her neck brace, she looked calm and serene in a black floral dress as
she greeted, chatted and mingled with the guests at the sprawling home at No. 14
Badjao St. in the posh subdivision.
It was a solemn, strictly private affair and the house crawled with
policemen.
Iggy lay in a flag-draped, white casket framed by wreaths of flowers and his
own portrait, in the living room overlooking the family pool.
Biggest gathering
His body was flown to Manila on Wednesday night from London, where he died of
a liver ailment on January 26. It was brought by Grace, her daughter Gabrielle
and one of Iggy's daughters, Bianca.
Later, the body was taken to Arlington Funeral Homes, also in Quezon City,
before it was brought to La Vista.
Grace left La Vista before Aleli arrived.
The VIPs who came to La Vista included Senator Ramon Revilla Jr., former
Senator Francisco Tatad, former Justice Secretaries Agnes Devanadera and Raul
Gonzalez, former Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, former Press
Secretary Rigoberto Tiglao and former Press Undersecretary Mike Defensor, among
others.
Other personalities at the wake included House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez
and Representatives Amelita Villarosa, Carlos Padilla, Pedro Romualdo, Ferdinand
Martin Romualdez and Lani Mercado, as well as lawyers Ferdinand Topacio, Leonard
de Vera and Romulo Macalintal.
It was the biggest gathering of Arroyo and her allies since she was arrested
in November last year and detained at the VMMC. There, owing to court
restrictions, her allies could only visit her individually, or in pairs.
Teary-eyed at Mass
Arroyo was driven by the police to La Vista at around 8 a.m. amid heavy
traffic.
The former President, her husband Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo and their
children—Kasangga Representative Juan Miguel Arroyo, Camarines Sur
Representative Diosdado Arroyo and Ma. Lourdes Arroyo-Bernas—as well as their
grandchildren had a lively chatter over breakfast.
By 9 a.m. visitors began streaming in.
Arroyo and her husband led the mourners at the Mass celebrated by Fr. Jose
Perez. Aleli sat next to the former President, while Iggy's daughters sat
behind. Some were teary-eyed.
Reporters were stopped at the gate of La Vista at the request of the Arroyos
and homeowners.
Flag to the daughters
Aleli was not at Arlington, where a Mass was also offered before Iggy's body
was re-embalmed, according to the late congressman's chief of staff, Bong Road.
The body had been kept in a London morgue for 34 days and needed to be
"prepared" for viewing.
Grace and her family, including her parents and siblings, attended the Mass
at Arlington along with Iggy's other relatives.
Funeral arrangements were being coordinated by Bernardina (Dina)
Arroyo-Tantoco, Iggy's daughter by his first wife, Marilyn Jacinto, according to
Road. He said Dina would coordinate the arrangements with Aleli and Grace.
Road also said the flag to be used at the necrological rites to be held in
the House of Representatives would be turned over to Iggy's daughters Bianca,
Dina and Alelou.
Bianca and Dina are the late congressman's children with Jacinto, while
Alelou is his child with Aleli.
From 'Mike and Gloria'
Grace accompanied the body to La Vista but left a few minutes after the
former President arrived.
Aleli appeared soon after Grace left. After viewing the casket, Aleli sat
beside Arroyo, who gave her a long hug.
Iggy's casket—surrounded by white, lavender and orange flowers—is to be moved
on Saturday to the house he shared with Aleli, just across the street from the
Arroyos' ancestral home.
THREE WOMEN Grace Ibuna (center) holds hands with daughter Gabrielle
Concepcion (right) and Bianca Arroyo (left) upon their arrival at Ninoy Aquino
International Airport on Wednesday night from London. They brought home the body
of Rep. Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo. RODEL ROTONI
]
On the left side of the casket was a single wreath of white orchids and large
white anthuriums. The wreath simply said it was from "Mike and Gloria."
On the right side stood a table with photos of Iggy, his brother Mike and the
former President.
Iggy's body will stay in Aleli's house until Monday morning, when it will be
brought to Batasang Pambansa for the necrological rites. Then it will be flown
to Bacolod City for a three-day wake in his hometown of Kabankalan in Negros
Occidental province.
March 9 burial
The body will be brought back to Manila for burial at the North Cemetery on
March 9.
Arroyo's death touched off a legal battle for the custody of his body both in
courts in the United Kingdom and the Philippines. An out-of-court agreement was
reached by the rival parties that led to the return of the body.
Out of respect for Mike Arroyo and his family, "we agreed to bury Iggy (at
North Cemetery near his mother's grave). Rightfully so, I think," Grace told
reporters upon the body's arrival at the airport on Wednesday. "Iggy loved his
brother more than his life."
Grace also said that before he died, Iggy specifically requested that a wake
be held at the Arroyos' ancestral home in La Vista "because it was where the
wakes of his mom and dad were also held."
According to Grace's lawyer, Leonard de Vera, the arrangement for the funeral
was well defined in the agreement between Grace and Aleli which they submitted
in court.
No one's barred
"Everything should be fine. We want an orderly, peaceful and decent burial
for Iggy and I think everyone will cooperate," said De Vera, who added that
under the agreement, no one is barred from going to the wake.
"Those are public places, everybody is welcome. Based on our arrangement, no
one is barred, so there will be peace and quiet," De Vera added.
Asked if she felt the same way, Grace answered: "For the sake of peace, yes,
so that Iggy can be laid to rest … but after the burial, that's another story."
Quezon City Judge Eleuterio Bathan of Regional Trial Court Branch 92 approved
the compromise agreement on the wake and burial reached between the Aleli and
Grace camps.
"Finding that the stipulations in the compromise agreement to be not contrary
to law, morals, public policy and public order, the same is hereby approved and
instant case is deemed terminated," Bathan said in his order.
He told both parties to "faithfully observe and respect" the agreement.
Controversies
In life, Iggy figured prominently in the controversies that hounded his
brother Mike and the former President.
In 1997, Gloria Arroyo, then a senator, was investigated for alleged
nondisclosure of $4.6 million worth of properties in San Francisco, California.
Mike said it was his younger brother who owned the properties.
In 2003, Iggy again came to the rescue of his elder brother when he claimed
ownership of the "Jose Pidal" bank accounts that were allegedly used to launder
contributions to Arroyo's presidential campaign.
Last year, he also figured in a controversy surrounding the sale to the
Philippine National Police of secondhand helicopters allegedly owned by the
Arroyos. Iggy said his brother did not own the choppers, which were sold as
brand-new units to the PNP. With a report from Julie M.
Aurelio
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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