MANILA, Philippines — Senator Teofisto Guingona III, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, on Thursday ordered that a government doctor be sent to former First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to examine the “veracity” of his medical condition.
Guingona issued the order immediately after he informed the members of the committee that Arroyo could not attend the hearing supposedly because of his “serious heart illness.”
Senator Franklin Drilon suggested the director of the Philippine Heart Center, Manuel Chua, should be sent to check on Arroyo.
Arroyo’s accountant, Rowena del Rosario, did not also attend the hearing, saying she has yet to consult her lawyers.
Drilon then asked the committee that Del Rosario be subpoenaed in its next hearing.
The senator also asked the committee to direct the Home Mutual Development Fund to submit the records of Del Rosario, who was appointed in the agency in an acting capacity in March 2005 but was regularized only in March 2010.