A fugitive for 4 years, ex-PCSO exec pleads not guilty

Resurfacing after four years of avoiding capture in New Zealand, a coaccused of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has pleaded not guilty to the charge of plundering P366 million in Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds.

Former PCSO board member Ma. Fatima Valdes was seated in a hard plastic chair when she was finally arraigned by the Sandiganbayan on Thursday, two weeks after surrendering to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) upon her return to the country on Oct. 11.

The 69-year old, who has a history of heart ailments and uses a wheelchair, had sought her immediate arraignment. But it had to be canceled twice last week because she was confined to the intensive care unit for some time.

The antigraft’s First Division allowed Valdes to stay at the Makati Medical Center, after she said she had not been feeling well since she arrived at the airport, and doctors found her to be at high risk of stroke. Even then, NBI operatives are with her at the hospital at all times.

While under hospital detention, Valdes asked the court to be immediately allowed to post bail for the nonbailable offense, just like her fellow PCSO board members who have been allowed to do so in June 2013 after the court found their case to be lacking in strong evidence.

Lawyers also cited her old age and her heart condition, as she “currently has a pacemaker and would need constant medical attention.”

The motion noted that her fellow PCSO board members—Manuel Morato, Raymundo Roquero and Jose Taruc—were eventually acquitted after the court on April 2015 granted their demurrer to the prosecution’s evidence.

“Since the evidence and allegations against accused Valdes are the same as those acquitted, there is no hindrance to the ordering of this Honorable Court that accused Valdes be allowed to post bail as well,” the motion read.