Lawmakers oppose move to put Arroyo under protective custody of House
MANILA, Philippines—Akbayan party-list Representative Kaka Bag-ao on Tuesday opposed a move of opposition lawmakers to place former president and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo under the protective custody of the House of Representatives while she is on trial for electoral sabotage, saying it is not a haven for “crooks, plunderers and criminals.”
“The people’s right to justice must take precedence over the right of a single individual. The minority should stop treating this House as if it were a shelter for crooks, plunderers, and criminals,” Bag-ao said.
“If there is anything that needs protection from this august chamber, it is the rule of law that is now being bastardized by the machinations of the people that [Arroyo] has put in key positions during her incumbency as president,” she said.
According to Bag-ao, there was no reason why there was a need for such ‘special treatment, as the non-bailable charges of electoral sabotage against the former president was a fair and legitimate judicial process.
Bag-ao said if there is any danger Arroyo should be afraid of, it is the possibility of a conviction and jail term as she was being made to answer for the crimes she allegedly committed during her term.
For his part, Representative Walden Bello, also of Akbayan, insisted that Arroyo had no right to ask for or be accorded special treatment.
Article continues after this advertisement“A hospital arrest is better than protective custody. But if there is fear of real threats to her well being, the Department of Justice can simply increase its complement of Philippine National Police and DOJ personnel providing security for her,” Bello said.
Article continues after this advertisementBello also said that it would be unwise to bring Arroyo to Batasan and to be in close proximity to her staunchest allies.
“At a time when all of Gloria’s escape routes are blocked off, bringing [Arroyo] to Congress would open a little window of opportunity for her to plot her final escape,” Bello explained.
He pointed out that congressional security could not even detect the switching of ballot boxes of the 2004 elections that were stored at the House.
“What chance would they have against people determined to help Gloria escape, especially that the Minority might provide insider assistance for this? The House simply is not tailored to serve as a detention center,” Bello said.
He said what was happening to Arroyo was a test of the “Daang Matuwid’ (straight path) and that the House leadership must cooperate by showing the people that it is on the side of truth and justice by not placing Arroyo under its protective custody.
On the other hand, San Juan Representative JV Ejercito said now that the former leader has been placed under the custody of the court, the Aquino government should likewise file charges in court against Arroyo’s husband, Jose Miguel “Mike Arroyo and son Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, and the rest of their accomplices in various cases of graft, plunder and human rights violations.
“I hope the electoral sabotage will not be the last case filed against [Arroyo]. The people are still waiting for all the other charges to be filed in court against her,” Ejercito said.
He said the government must also ensure it can provide the same security and protection to key state witnesses to assure success in the prosecution of the electoral sabotage case and additional cases against the Arroyos.
“I hope they (key state witnesses) would not opt to leave the country for fear of their lives. In the interest of justice, let us secure them and make them feel assured that they and their families would be sought a clarification on the Department of Justice’s position in allowing Mikey Arroyo to leave the country despite being in the watch list order for various charges of corruption,” Ejercito said.
“It is just a wonder why my colleague, Mikey Arroyo, was permitted to slip out of the country quietly amid the chaos of his mother’s arrest. That is quite unfortunate. I hope he returns soon and not abandon his mother to face all these charges alone,” he said.
Mikey Arroyo left for the US last Thursday after being granted an allowed-departure order by a Quezon City court.
