The husband of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo flew in from Germany early Thursday night saying he had found a doctor specializing in stem cell treatment.
Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, who arrived accompanied by three men on board a Cathay Pacific Airlines flight from Germany via Hong Kong, also said he and his wife would face all the charges leveled at them. The former first couple are implicated in poll fraud in 2004 and 2007, which is being investigated by a joint panel of the Department of Justice and the Commission on Elections.
Mike Arroyo left for Germany two weeks ago, purportedly to undergo a medical checkup and to look for a physician who could administer stem cell treatment.
“It was a successful trip, and I talked to a doctor specializing in stem cell research,” he said in an interview.
On the phone Friday with the Inquirer, Mike Arroyo’s lawyer, Inocencio Ferrer, said his client had just come from Germany where he sought a second opinion from doctors on whether his wife should undergo stem cell treatment to boost her health.
Ferrer said Gloria Arroyo’s poor health did not allow her to travel abroad to seek treatment using this cutting-edge technology.
The former President, now a representative of the second district of Pampanga, is afflicted with cervical spondylosis.
Also known as neck arthritis, the ailment is an age-related degenerative condition of the cartilage and bones of the neck caused by the chronic wearing away of the cervical spine.
Gloria Arroyo has undergone surgery and other modes of treatment at St. Luke’s Medical Center.
Mike Arroyo had a life-threatening aortic aneurysm in 2007, and continues to undergo medical therapy.
‘Right evidence’
He was recently implicated in the Philippine National Police’s purchase of used helicopters passed off as brand-new.
In the interview on Thursday night, Mike Arroyo said he and his wife were prepared to face their accusers.
“They have to have the right evidence. It should be correct; otherwise, they have nothing,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
“Of course, we are willing to face them, but they must be fair also in evaluating the evidence,” he said, adding that proof of wrongdoing, and not just hearsay, should be presented.
Ferrer told the Inquirer that Mike Arroyo “cut short his medical treatment when he heard that he would be jailed by Christmas.”
It was a reference to the remark of Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes suggesting that the Arroyo couple would be clapped in jail by yearend because the joint panel’s investigation would be completed in December and charges would then be filed in court.
Ferrer also assailed Malacañang for supposedly conditioning the public that his client had already been convicted and would be jailed at the national penitentiary.
‘In bad taste’
In a statement, Ferrer cited remarks by President Aquino’s spokesperson that the Arroyos would not be given special treatment even if they invoked ill health to avoid incarceration.
“These statements were and are made in bad taste, considering that my client has not even been charged with any crime allegedly committed during the 2007 senatorial elections. By publicly uttering these statements as spokesman for the President, there is now a perception that Malacañang has already condemned my client and sentenced him to life imprisonment,” Ferrer said.
He added: “It is very unfortunate that the statements of this administration have the effect of conditioning the minds of the people that the Arroyo couple have nowhere to go but the New Bilibid Prison, despite the fact that no court has yet tried and convicted them.
“What happened to the constitutional rights of an individual to due process and presumption of innocence? Will this administration now do away with the rule of law for political expediency?”
Ferrer said the Aquino administration could be regressing to the time when “rights are disregarded and the courts are used as mere political weapons.”
He cited the case of the President’s father, the late former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., who was arrested and imprisoned during the Marcos dictatorship, to stress his point.
He said the President should follow the 1987 Constitution and “stop the Star Chamber methods that former Sen. Ninoy Aquino was subjected to during the dark days of martial law.”
Palace endorsement
Ferrer and Raul Lambino, Gloria Arroyo’s spokesperson for legal matters, had assailed Brillantes for “bias and prejudgment” and called for his resignation.
But Mr. Aquino’s spokesperson Edwin Lacierda on Friday vouched for the Comelec chair: “I think Chairman Brillantes is a fully qualified election lawyer. He’s very, very competent. He will go through the [joint panel’s] report, I’m sure, without subjectivity.
“The test of whether any complaint will be filed will be based on the evidence [presented to] their body. He is again in a better position to determine whether a case should be filed or not.”
Lacierda also took exception to remarks attributed to Lambino that he was lawyering for poll fraud witness and former Maguindanao Administrator Norie Unas.
“As usual, Dr. Lambino’s prescriptions are wrong. If you notice, I also mentioned that the testimony of Mr. Norie Unas will be subject to the evaluation and appreciation of the DOJ-Comelec [joint panel]. That’s the most charitable thing that I can say,” Lacierda said.
Lacierda had earlier said that personal knowledge was a very strong form of evidence. He said Unas’ testimony—that he heard then President Arroyo order then Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. to ensure the 12-0 sweep in the province of her senatorial candidates in 2007—was one such evidence based on personal knowledge. With a report from Norman Bordadora