ShareThisComelec chief bares, denies possibility; GMA very thin, needs treatment abroad
By CLAIRE MORALES TRUE
MANILA – Due to their alleged participation in the 2007 election “cheating,” former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and husband Jose Miguel Arroyo may end up in jail by Christmas.
Chairman Sixto Brillantes of the Commission on Election talked last week about the possibility of the former First Couple being incarcerated, but later on pointed out that he was misquoted.
Brillantes, who was the lawyer of the late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr., had said that if the charges of poll fraud against Mr. and Mrs. Arroyo will be filed now in court, it was estimated that a conviction maybe made before Christmas for the unbailable offense.
This developed as Mrs. Arroyo, now congresswoman of Pampanga, appeared very thin as her condition has not improved after three operations at the St. Luke’s Medical Center for damaged spine, and should now seek medical treatment abroad.
Mrs. Arroyo is currently recuperating at her La Vista residence in Quezon City after her three operations last August.
The former First Gentleman, on the other hand, had just returned from Germany where he had medical check-up and scouted for doctors who will treat him.
Atty. Arroyo returned home to prove their critics wrong that he and Mrs. Arroyo will use their medical treatment abroad to escape the charges against them. Critics said he and Mrs. Arroyo may “do a Thanksin Shinawatra” and escape.
Mrs. Arroyo’s brother in law, Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo, has been quoted as saying the former President, now a Pampanga representative, should seek second opinion abroad for her cervical spine.
The Negros solon later denied suggesting a medical treatment abroad, but Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and several senators and congressmen supported the plan for Mrs. Arroyo to get treatment abroad, especially if it is necessary.
“It is perfectly okay for her to seek the best medical treatment here or abroad and she should,” Belmonte said, adding that he does not buy allegations that former Chief Executive will use her possible treatment abroad to evade prosecution.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and. Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Arroyo should be allowed to seek medical attention of her choice, whether here or abroad.
“Why not?” said Enrile who noted that President Aquino’s father, Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., was allowed to get treatment abroad during martial law.
“Nung panahon namin, si Ninoy nga ay nakasakdal at meron ng desisyon sa kanya, at nung nangailangan siya ng medical treatment abroad, the government authorized him to leave the country,” said Enrile.
Estrada said his father, former president Joseph Estrada, was allowed by the Sandiganbayan to undergo a knee operation abroad while he was detained for plunder.
The Negros lawmaker said the former President is against the operation abroad because critics may accuse her of trying to evade the various complaints against her.
The former President is facing six plunder cases while her husband is facing corruption charges for allegedly selling second-hand helicopters, as brand new to the Philippine National Police.
The couple are also accused of masterminding the cheating in the 2004 presidential and 2007 senatorial elections.
Several alleged witnesses to the said election fraud, including Comelec officers, had surfaced and presented signed affidavits detailing the alleged cheating, especially in Maguindanao.