Belmonte: Arroyo should be allowed to stay in hospital

Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ JOAN BONDOC

MANILA, Philippines – Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should remain confined in a hospital despite a new court order for her arrest, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. told reporters Thursday night.

“I think that’s exactly where she should be kept because she has really become quite frail according to the reports,” he said of Arroyo, who is seeking a second term as Pampanga representative.

“I myself would not want her anywhere else except in the Veterans’ (Memorial Medical Center) where medical assistance is readily available,” added Belmonte, a former ally of the congresswoman.

Belmonte said he “sympathized” with Arroyo, who is suffering from a lingering cervical spine problem that has kept her neck in a brace most of the time. She also has difficulty swallowing because of titanium implants near the throat.

“Of course, as a person, you sympathize, but the wheels of justice have to move on,” he said. “I sympathize with her but I also believe that the processes of justice and the courts should go on.”

Arroyo was arrested again Thursday afternoon because of a plunder complaint filed against her in connection with alleged misuse of P325 million in Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds. Also ordered arrested where nine co-accused.

Belmonte commended the way the warrant was served on Arroyo.

“There is no intention to make a spectacle out of it or to embarrass her in any way,” he said.