Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cannot leave the country yet to seek medical treatment abroad, according to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima who has been given the task of deciding Arroyo’s fate by Malacañang.
De Lima said she has asked Health Secretary Enrique Ona to help in evaluating the medical abstract submitted by Arroyo’s physician detailing her condition known as cerebral spondylosis.
She said she will be basing her decision to issue an allow-departure order (ADO) for Arroyo on what Ona has to say.
But since she still hadn’t heard from Ona by 3 p.m. Friday, De Lima figured the earliest she can make a decision on whether or not to grant Arroyo’s request would be next Wednesday, the first working day following the long weekend holiday.
“I would not want to issue the ADO during the break,” De Lima told reporters.
Three letters
De Lima confirmed that Arroyo wrote her three letters asking to be allowed to go abroad for medical treatment and promising that she will not “escape the process” at the DoJ. The latest was sent on Oct. 24 and attached to it was the medical abstract, De Lima said.
Not having the expertise to evaluate the medical abstract, De Lima said she had to approach Ona for help and was waiting for the results of his evaluation.
“The reason I’m doing this is that I’m just exercising due diligence, extra caution and prudence that before I make the decision on whether or not to issue an ADO, I have the benefit of all these facts and insights so that we won’t make a wrong decision. I said before that this decision is difficult to make so I’m balancing everything,” she said.
Exceptional reason
She said the primary consideration in the issuance of an ADO is the presence of “exceptional reason.”
“Crucial to this question of exceptional reason is the actual medical condition of the former President. Is there an urgency, an extreme, compelling necessity for her to seek medical treatment abroad at this time?” she said.
Arroyo, 64, recently underwent a series of surgeries to insert titanium implants to correct four afflicted levels of her spine and for the replacement of the implants after these were dislodged because of a rare condition that affects calcium production in her body, which aggravated her neck and spine problems. The former President can be seen wearing a neck brace in newspaper photos.
Ona to decide on Arroyo’s checkup
De Lima said she was leaving it up to Ona to decide if he would want to personally check on Arroyo, although De Lima said Ona knew that the matter was urgent.
Arroyo’s spokesperson has said she was prepared to leave as soon as she is given an ADO. The Pampanga representative was given permission by the House of Representatives to travel to Singapore, Spain, Germany, Italy and the United States from Oct. 22 to December for medical treatment.
However, the Department of Justice placed Arroyo on the immigration watch list the other day for being one of the accused in the electoral sabotage cases being investigated by a joint panel of the DOJ and the Commission on Elections. She cannot leave the country without clearance from the DOJ.
Weighing things up
De Lima said she will consider all factors so that she can make a judicious decision.
“I’m weighing things up. I have to be careful here. The decision should be correct. Some sectors will complain whether I allow her to leave or not,” she said.
She said she would also balance the national interest with individual rights and would uphold the DOJ’s policies on restricting travel of people suspected of high crimes.
“What if the people who are charged disappear? The cases would not move on. How will there be closure? These are high crimes… If people who should be charged leave the jurisdiction of our courts, what kind of closure shall we have? This is all about justice and accountability,” she added.
In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Arroyo’s letter to De Lima as well as the other requirements that were asked and submitted—“an undertaking, sub-authority and medical abstract”—would have to be studied.
As to whether Arroyo would be allowed to travel after these requirements are met, “we would have to defer to Secretary De Lima,” he said.
Legislators pro and con
Three of Arroyo’s party-list colleagues in the House yesterday opposed the grant of a permit to travel, warning that President Aquino’s anticorruption campaign would crumble if she is allowed to leave.
It will show that Mr. Aquino has failed in his campaign promise to make Arroyo “account for her crimes,” said Bayan Muna member Teodoro Casiño.
Antonio Tinio (Alliance of Concerned Teachers) said Arroyo’s busy travel schedule—five countries in one month—proved that her health has been improving.
“Such a schedule would be taxing even for a healthy person. Perhaps GMA is not being entirely transparent about the purpose of this trip. Given the implausible nature of her request and the gravity of the charges against her, Malacañang would do well to deny it,” Tinio said.
Neri Colmenares (Bayan Muna) said there was no compelling reason for Arroyo to leave because she has to prove that no local doctor or facility would be able to address her “rare disease.”
Other House members however, said they did not believe Arroyo’s being allowed to travel would affect the President’s ability to deliver on his campaign promise to jail those responsible for massive corruption in the past administration.
Condemned by history
“I can’t think how that would inveigh against the crusade to hold Congresswoman Arroyo accountable for all her perfidies. She is demonstrably sick and entitled to medical care corresponding to the gravity of her illness,” said Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao.
Walden Bello (Akbayan) said the President’s seriousness about his anticorruption crusade should be balanced with a concern for life and health.
“You can’t allow a convict to die or suffer serious physical illness while under your custody. The person on trial here is GMA. Will she use her need for medical treatment to escape accountability or will she, like Erap did a few years ago, return to face the music? Her not returning would be a virtual admission of guilt and permanent exile would be her punishment. Besides, cases against her cronies and accomplices will continue to be pursued,” said Bello.
Quezon Rep. Lorenzo Tañada III said that Arroyo’s trip would not mean she was evading liability from the cases filed against her.
“If she refuses to return, then obviously she is guilty and will be condemned by history,” he said.
Illegal and unconstitutional
Two of the President’s Senate allies have assailed De Lima’s watch list order against Arroyo as illegal and unconstitutional
Sen. Franklin Drilon said the right to travel is a constitutional right and its restriction through a watch list order that has the effect of a hold-departure order is illegal.
He urged De Lima to revoke the circular issued by her predecessor Alberto Agra, which was apparently made the basis of the watch list order against Arroyo.
Sen. Francis Escudero said only the courts can issue a hold-departure order and warned the Aquino government against using the “oppressive” Agra circular against Arroyo.
Estrada redux
Deposed President Joseph Estrada yesterday said he saw nothing wrong with the strictures that the Aquino government is placing on his predecessor’s travel plans.
Estrada said he had received “very reliable” information from doctors that Arroyo had already recovered from her ailment.
“That’s why I think there should be a thorough checkup to determine if she really has to go abroad for further treatment. It has to be ascertained that we don’t have sufficient equipment and experts to take care of her. If she’s really sick, then she can go,” he said.
Estrada said Arroyo may be using her medical condition to evade prosecution.
“She might try to escape. Because with all her crimes here, she cannot escape,” he said in Filipino.
Estrada himself was let out of house arrest and allowed to travel for 20 days to Hong Kong to undergo various medical examinations and procedures, including eye and knee surgeries, in 2004.
But in the Estrada case, he was already on trial for plunder at the Sandiganbayan antigraft court, which convicted and sentenced him to 30 years in prison in 2007. He was almost immediately pardoned by Arroyo. With reports from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr., Norman Bordadora and Christian V. Esguerra