Arroyo assembling defense team, says lawyer
MANILA, Philippines—She may be sick, but it doesn’t mean she will take matters lying down.
Embattled former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has assembled the finest lawyers available to defend her against at least six plunder complaints filed against her.
Raul Lambino, her legal spokesperson, said on Thursday that Arroyo was spending a lot of money on her legal defense. She had to, he said, especially in the face of what he called a “multi-million-peso” public relations campaign against her.
“It’s expensive,” he told the Inquirer. “You have to hire the best lawyers you can afford depending on their expertise. It’s not easy to face a barrage of cases in court, with your accusers being backed by a multi-million-peso PR budget.”
Lambino added: “She won’t take things sitting down because it’s her constitutional right to defend herself. She will face all her accusers squarely in the proper forum.”
Leading Arroyo’s legal team is 80-year-old Estelito Mendoza, a solicitor general and justice minister during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. Besides the late dictator, he has also defended a variety of prominent politicians, including former president Joseph Estrada.
Mendoza is handling the P72-million plunder case filed against Arroyo over her administration’s supposed failure to remit P72 million in capital tax gains collected from the sale of the Iloilo airport in 2007.
Another prominent lawyer, Benjamin Santos, is handling Arroyo’s defense in a separate complaint alleging that some P530 million in Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration funds had been diverted to boost her presidential bid in 2004.
Lambino said the actual number of lawyers working for a particular case depended on the law office of the lead counsel.
The latest plunder case filed against Arroyo involved the alleged misuse of P325 million in intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. Retired Brigadier General Danilo Lim, who was involved in an alleged failed attempt to overthrow Arroyo, is among the complainants.
Lambino admitted that the barrage of plunder cases was taking its toll on the 64-year-old Arroyo, who is scheduled to undergo neck surgery on Friday.
“It adds to the stress that she is bearing,” he said. “Non-stop accusations affect the health of any person.”
Lambino claimed that the series of controversies floated in recent weeks against his client involved no “solid evidence besides statements coming from supposed witnesses who, we know, are being induced by those orchestrating the action.”
“We don’t worry about the legal aspect because we know there is no solid evidence against her,” he added. “But we are losing the public relations war because we don’t have the resources. The government has the Senate, House, Ombudsman, and even a friendly media, to support its position.”
