No ruling yet on Arroyo’s continued hospital detention

Former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

MANILA, Philippines—The Pasay City Regional Trial Court has yet to rule on whether former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should continue to be held in a government hospital or be transferred to a regular jail as her lawyer has asked for more time to obtain a copy of a medical report on her condition and question her doctor on the witness stand.

Judge Jesus Mupas of RTC Branch 112 also deferred ruling on Arroyo’s request for permission to attend the wake and funeral of her brother-in-law, the late Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio Arroyo Jr. who died last week in London.

Until defense lawyers have clearly informed the court of  the exact details of the wake and funeral, the court would not act on the former president’s request, according to Felda Domingo, court spokesperson and legal researcher.

Orthopedic surgeon Antonio Sison testified in court that Arroyo, now a member of the House of Representatives, continued to experience “intermittent pain” in the shoulder muscles.

He said Arroyo needed “close supervision” in her daily routine such as dressing up, and walking around the detention facility.

Arroyo is charged with electoral sabotage  for allegedly ordering the rigging of the senatorial elections in Maguindanao in 2007, along with former Maguindanao provincial Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and election supervisor Lintang Bedol.