SC allows Arroyo Christmas, New Year furlough

The Supreme Court has allowed former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to spend Christmas and New Year’s Day at her house in Quezon City.

High Court’s Information Chief Theodore Te said Arroyo’s furlough starts at 8 in the morning of Dec. 23, 2015 until 5 in the afternoon of Dec. 26, 2015; and 8 in the morning of Dec. 30, 2015 to 5 in the afternoon of Jan. 2, 2016.

Te said the furlough will be “spent exclusively at her residence at La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City.”

“The petitioner shall remain under preventive custody of the law,” Te said.

The high court ordered Sandiganbayan acting Chief of Security and Sheriffs Services Alberto Dela Cruz to implement the resolution and coordinate with the Philippine National Police (PNP).

The high court required Dela Cruz to submit a report of his full compliance to the Supreme Court on Jan. 11, 2016.

The high court gave the furlough pending resolution of her urgent motion for house arrest.

Te said the high court ordered government lawyer to comment on Arroyo’s urgent motion.

Arroyo is currently detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) while her lone plunder case in connection with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) scam.