Arroyo a victim of ‘Aquino express,’ says attorney

MANILA, Philippines—Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a “a victim of Aquino express” that defies all law and logic and the highest court of the land, according to her counsel and legal spokesperson Raul Lambino.

“What’s happening to Mrs. Arroyo is not an ordinary railroad act but a P-Noy (Aquino) express which violates all laws and rules, even the Supreme Court, and this is very alarming,” Lambino told the Inquirer on Saturday.

On President Aquino’s instruction to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to accord courtesy to Arroyo, now a representative of Pampanga,  Lambino said this was just a “pa-pogi (look good) point.”

“What they’re saying is something but what they’re actually doing is another thing,” Lambino said.

According to Lambino, the issuance of the arrest warrant by a Pasay Regional Trial Court was rushed at a time when the high court had just finished reiterating its previous ruling upholding Arroyo’s constitutional right to travel and so proved that this administration was “bent on persecuting her.”

“She is so depressed, stressed out and very, very sad but she has to face the P-Noy tune which is ‘tsugtsugin’ (persecute) tune,” Lambino said.

Lambino said his group had filed a motion for reconsideration with the Pasay RTC. He will also handle the oral arguments scheduled on Tuesday on the validity of Department of Justice Circular No. 41 which barred Arroyo from leaving the country.

Specifically, Lambino wanted the court to take note that Arroyo’s electoral offense should be handled by the Sandiganbayan and not a lower court as she was president, with salary grade 33, when the alleged crime was committed as provided under the Sandiganbayan law.

Lambino also questioned the Pasay RTC’s jurisdiction over the criminal complaint since Malacañang, where Arroyo had held office as President when the alleged offense was committed, is located in Manila.

On criticism why he was passionately defending what seemed to be an unpopular cause, Lambino said what was happening today was “beyond GMA (Arroyo).”

“If you’re defending a popular president, it is very easy but if you’re defending a very unpopular president who has been found guilty in the eyes of the public, it is very difficult,” Lambino said.

Whether Arroyo was innocent or not was immaterial to him, Lambino said.

What is important, he said, is Arroyo has rights that must be protected and that there are many presumptions in the Bill of Rights, including the presumption of innocence.

“I told my family, ‘You know from the very beginning that this is an unpopular president but I have to fight for her rights.’ As a lawyer and an advocate of the preservation of law, it’s not enough that you fight because your physical liberty is being threatened. You have to fight to protect that right, even if it will cost my life. To me, this is already beyond Arroyo,”  he added.