De Lima should escort Arroyo, congresswoman says

MANILA, Philippines – Justice Secretary Leila de Lima should tag along as a “personal escort” of  Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her medical appointments abroad to ease the administration’s fears that she would not return to the country to face charges of plunder and electoral sabotage against her, an ally of the former president said Friday.

“Secretary de Lima seems to want to become superwoman, be everything and do everything at once, so why not be GMA’s [Arroyo’s initial] bodyguard as well? She can keep the former President under watch if she is afraid that the Arroyos will flee to evade charges that are yet to be filed against them,” said Zambales Representative Milagros Magsaysay, an Arroyo ally.

In a statement, Magsaysay said that whether the Arroyos were guilty or not was not the issue because the charges have yet to be acted on by the courts. Since the couple has not been formally charged in court yet, Magsaysay said there was no reason for the administration to defy the Supreme Court’s temporary restraining order lifting travel restrictions imposed by De Lima.

“What kind of justice is this when the final arbiter of the law [Supreme Court] is being ordered to justify its own decision when it has been clearly indicated in their resolution? Whatever happened to the separation of powers of the judiciary and executive branches of the government? Whatever happened to respect?

“If they [government] try to stop the Arroyos from flying out again despite the court order, then we should seriously rethink the system of justice in this country because there is a serious problem which may spring from this case that may set a precedent for other cases,” said Magsaysay.