Palace to Mike A: We will just do our work on cases vs GMA

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday disputed the claim of former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo that President Aquino was showing dictatorial tendencies in his statements that his administration would pursue cases against his wife, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and hoped for a conviction by next year. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Arroyo was probably just “showing off” and would like to have a sound bite. He also stressed imposing martial law was farthest from their minds. 

“Just let him be, we will just do our work, we will do what the President has directed the responsible officials to do,” Lacierda said. Lacierda said he does not know the reason why the former first gentleman made those remarks. “Obviously, he wants a sound bite out to the public. But based on surveys, the trust rating of the former president and also the (former) first gentleman is at an all time low. So, I think the public knows who to believe in this issue,” he said.

Speaking at the ASEAN 100 Leadership Forum last Thursday, Aquino said he “should end the attitude of let bygones be bygones.”

“A lot of this corruption that happened in the past still impacts the present... you do something wrong there has to be a certainty of punishment. If there is no certainty of punishment, that is actually an advertisement to continue going the corrupt route up to the present time and that hampers our ability to be able to achieve the goals that we want for our country,” Aquino said.

“So again, I will be going after the ghost of the past, will prosecute as far as the evidence that we gather and a certainty that will be able to convict. That actually just emphasizes that more so under my watch, I will be that much stricter,” he added.

During his four-day official working visit in Japan, Aquino declared his resolve of convicting some corrupt officials in the past administration by next year.

He told a Filipino community in Japan during his visit that his administration will start filing cases “before the end of the year” against the people that he said had robbed the country.

If in the past the anomalies were being swept under the rug, Aquino said now everything was coming out in the open.

At the center of it all was former president Arroyo, who has yet to answer all the allegations thrown at her.

Doctors, meanwhile, advised the former president and now Pampanga representative to take a complete rest following her series of surgery on her cervical spine.

Her friend, Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda, said doctors had advised Arroyo against venturing out to visit her constituents affected by the flooding caused by typhoon “Pedring.” 

“She (Arroyo) still has to follow the advice of her doctors,” Pineda said.

She said the doctors advised Arroyo to refrain from work and have complete rest since she still has to fully recover from her series of surgery on her damaged cervical spine.

Pineda noted that in the past years, even during her term as president, Arroyo never failed to distribute relief goods to her constituents in the province, particularly in the towns of Guagua, Sasmuan, and Lubao comprising the second congressional district.

Pineda visited the area to oversee relief and rescue operations of the villages affected by the widespread flooding.

Arroyo underwent her third surgery in the last week of August at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City and was discharged last Sept. 2 when her attending physician Dr. Juliet Cervantes gave her the go signal “to rest and continue recovering at home.”

Arroyo was reported to be recuperating at her residence in La Vista, Quezon City.

Cervantes said Arroyo would continue to wear the “halo vest” to help stabilize her vertebrae. 

Arroyo was diagnosed with cervical spondylosis early this year and had undergone a total of three surgeries. – With Ding Cervantes