SC dismissal of plunder case a vindication, says Arroyo

Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday said the final Supreme Court ruling to dismiss the plunder case against her was “truly a vindication.”

“I am delighted with the Supreme Court decision ruling with finality my acquittal of the charges filed against me with respect to the PCSO (Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office) case,” Arroyo said in a statement.

“I feel fortunate that I was given the chance to clear my name. It is truly a vindication. We can now move forward and take stock of what remains to be done to help this current administration achieve its goals of giving a better life to all Filipinos,” said Arroyo, who is now a Pampanga representative.

On Tuesday, 11 justices voted to reject the motion by the Office of the Solicitor General to reverse the tribunal’s earlier decision to junk the P366 million plunder case that was filed against Arroyo by the administration of then President Benigno Aquino III.

Arroyo spent more than four years under hospital arrest while the case was being tried by the Sandiganbayan.

The Aquino administration alleged that Arroyo misused  PCSO’s intelligence fund.