Arroyo seeks 3 separate trials on graft charges

Former President and Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wants separate trials in the three criminal cases against her stemming from the canceled national broadband network (NBN) deal, saying that they involve different facts and circumstances.

Arroyo has filed a motion before the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division contesting the legality of the consolidation of her cases and arguing that trying the cases together would only cause delays and confusion.

The former president is charged with two counts of graft and one count of breach of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials for approving the controversial $329-million NBN contract with China’s ZTE Corp., a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions.

In 2007, Arroyo canceled the NBN deal amid allegations of overpricing and bribery.

In a motion filed through her lawyers, Arroyo said the law disallows the consolidation of cases, while the merger of trials is permitted only at the discretion of the court.

She argued that trials could only be consolidated if the actions concerned arose from the same act or if they involved the same issues. She said this was not so in her cases.

Arroyo said there was a need to prove that there was a grossly disadvantageous contract she had entered into on behalf of the government in the first graft case against her or for violation of Section 3 (g) of the antigraft law.

Arroyo’s coaccused in the case are her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo, former elections chief Benjamin Abalos and former Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza.

In the second case, where she is accused of violation of Section 3 (i) of the antigraft law, she said it must be shown that there was an irregular transaction, that she had the opportunity to intervene in its approval, and that she had a direct or indirect interest in it.

In the third graft case, she said it must be proven that she had solicited or accepted gifts from ZTE Corp. in the course of her official duties while the project was being evaluated by the government.

“The three cases widely differ in the facts required to be proven and the evidence required to prove such facts,” Arroyo said. “Trying the three cases together would only create confusion, cause unnecessary delay, and unduly prejudice the rights of the accused.”

She also noted that the Sandiganbayan has issued no order or resolution declaring that her three cases were consolidated, or that the three cases were to be tried jointly.

Arroyo has been arraigned on the three criminal cases and has pleaded not guilty to all of them.

The graft charges are bailable, but she remains detained because of a nonbailable electoral sabotage case before the Pasay City regional trial court. She is being held at Veterans Memorial Medical Center.