Source: Agency
UN PANEL FINDS DETENTION OF PHILIPPINE EX-PRESIDENT ARROYO ILLEGAL
MANILA, Philippine - A UN body has said the continued
detention of former Philippine President Gloria Arroyo is illegal under
international law.
In an opinion issued on October 2, regarding the continued
stay in custody of the former leader, the five-member UN Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention said her detention had been carried out 
arbitrarily and
that it has no basis under international law.
arbitrarily and
that it has no basis under international law.
International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, who is
representing Arroyo in the case before the Geneva-based body, has said the
Philippine anti-graft court, Sandiganbayan, “failed to take into account the
former leader’s individual circumstances, when it continued to detain her and
had consistently rejected her attempts to post bail.
- The former president suffers from a number of ailments, including degenerative spine disease, which have compelled her to wear a neck brace and be moved around in a wheelchair.
- She remains in detention at the Veterans Memorial Medical Centre in suburban Quezon City, where she has been staying since 2012.
- Arroyo’s Filipino lawyer, Lawrence Gadon, said they welcomed the UN working group’s decision.
- He said they might file another request for bail before the Sandiganbayan that will now use the UN working group’s opinion as leverage.
Meanwhile, a government spokesperson said while it
recognises the UN body’s opinion on Arroyo’s case, it is still up to the
country’s courts to decide the outcome.“It should be noted that there is an on going judicial process in the Philippine courts, which has jurisdiction on such matter,” Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr said.
- He stressed that the Philippine courts observe judicial independence.
- “The government or any international body, for that matter, cannot interfere nor influence the course of an independent judicial proceeding,” Coloma said.
- Lawyer Gadon said he feared the longer Arroyo stays in detention, the more prolonged her suffering would be.
- Arroyo, who was president from February 2001 to June 2010 has faced a number of charges since her term ended.
- Most of the court cases were scrapped for lack of evidence and the only one that remains is a plunder case filed against her in connection with the alleged misuse of a P366 million intelligence fund of the state lottery body, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
Before her detention in 2012, Arroyo had been planning to
seek treatment overseas for her ailments.
Despite being in detention, Arroyo was elected
representative of her congressional district in Pampanga in 2010 and in 2013.
Reports said she is planning to run for a third and final term in the May 2016
elections.
Source: GulfNews
DETAINED EX-PRESIDENT ARROYO TO RUN AGAIN FOR CONGRESS?
MANILA, Philippines – She may be detained, facing
criminal charges and reportedly suffering from a crippling illness but former
president Gloria Arroyo intends to run again for a seat in the Philippine
Congress, her lawyer said Tuesday.
Arroyo, who has been held in a government hospital since
2011 while facing criminal charges, will run for a third term as congresswoman
of her home province of Pampanga in 2016 elections, said lawyer Raul Lambino.
Despite being unable to leave detention, Lambino said he is
confident the 68-year-old will win the seat, which she currently holds, again.
“Expect her to win over anybody,” Lambino told AFP.
“She was able to run in 2013 when she was already under
arrest and she was able to win overwhelmingly,” he said.
Arroyo, who served as president from 2001 to 2010, was
arrested while in a private hospital in 2011 for alleged voter fraud during her
presidency.
She was later detained at a military hospital and slapped
with additional charges of misuse of State lottery funds.
However, under the law, Arroyo is allowed to run for office
as long
as she is not convicted of a crime.
as she is not convicted of a crime.
Source: Sunday Times(AFP)...More...
FORMER PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT ARROYO CLEARED DUE TO LACK OF EVIDENCE
MANILA - Former Philippine president Gloria Arroyo and her congressman
son have been cleared of corruption charges linked to the infrastructure
project worth P1.86 billion in southern Luzon.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said the evidence presented in the
case did not warrant the filing of criminal complaints against the
former president and her son Congressman Diosdado “Dato” Arroyo in
connection with the building of a P700 million dam
project in Libmanan and Cabudao in the Bicol region, and the P1.16
billion elevated highway project, also in Camarines.
The complaint must be terminated and should not be elevated to the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court, Morales said.
Complainants claimed before the Ombudsman in 2013 that subordinates at
the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the public works and
highways department were fronts for Arroyo and her son.
- The Arroyos did not participate in the planning and implementing the projects of the local government unit of Camarines, Morales said, adding the funding for the dam and elevated highway did not come from the social development fund of Congressman Arroyo.
- The projects were funded by private groups that took advantage of the government’s build-operate and transfer investment scheme, said Morales.
- Arroyo was placed under hospital arrest at the start of the administration of President Benigno Aquino in 2010, following plunder charges that were filed against her.
Source: Agency
VISITORS GEOFLAGS SINCE AUGUST 26, 2009
