De Lima welcomes Arroyo arraignment

MANILA, Philippines—Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Wednesday welcomed the arraignment in the Sandiganbayan of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on graft charges in connection with the scuttled national broadband network deal with China’s ZTE Corp.

“That, of course, is a very good development,” De Lima told reporters in an interview. “Everything is proceeding well. The process of accountability, as you can see, is there. It’s moving and in due time, we will know the verdict.”

The justice secretary noted that the NBN-ZTE graft case was the second case that the Aquino administration filed against Arroyo, who has been detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center after she and several others were charged with allegedly rigging the 2007 elections in Mindanao.