GMA camp denounces railroading

MANILA, Philippines - Former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo expressed surprise yesterday over the issuance of a warrant of arrest for his wife, former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“That (warrant of arrest) can’t be. Our lawyers just filed an urgent motion questioning the jurisdiction (of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court) and that’s the first thing that should be hurdled first,” Arroyo told The STAR shortly after learning that the warrant had been issued.

“That’s really funny,” he remarked.

The couple cancelled their booking for a Singapore Airlines flight (SQ916) at 5:15 p.m. shortly after the warrant was issued.

House Minority Leader and Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman expressed disappointment over the issuance of the arrest warrant against his colleague in the opposition bloc.

Lagman said the filing of the charges and the issuance of a warrant of arrest on the same day was part of the game plan to prevent Mrs. Arroyo from leaving the country.

“That (issuance of warrant) is a precipitated action and the bullet train ruling seems to be part of the game plan to prevent Mrs. Arroyo from seeking medical treatment abroad. We are very disappointed,” Lagman said.

Earlier in the day, Arroyo and lawyers said the electoral sabotage charges filed against the former president were “fabricated” and “railroaded.”

They said the filing of the charges was obviously meant to prevent her from leaving the country to seek medical treatment abroad.

“This is a sad day for due process. The Comelec (Commission on Elections) voted on a resolution that was railroaded. The Comelec also railroaded its own resolution,” Arroyo said.

He noted Comelec Commissioner Armando Velasco did not vote since he did not have any time to read the resolution.

“That means that the Comelec voted to charge GMA (Mrs. Arroyo) with electoral sabotage even without reading the joint panel resolution. That strikes me as a docile Comelec to the Department of Justice (DOJ),” he said.

Arroyo said the DOJ-Comelec joint panel investigating the allegations had disregarded the statement of former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. denying the testimony of former provincial poll official Norie Unas, whose affidavit was the sole basis of the charge.

“It (allegation) was categorically denied. So where is the electoral sabotage? They are following the orders of P-Noy (President Aquino) to file cases versus GMA even without basis and by fast train too,” Arroyo said.

Mrs. Arroyo’s legal spokesman, Raul Lambino, said Ampatuan virtually called Unas a liar yet the joint panel disregarded his testimony.

Mrs. Arroyo’s lawyer, Christian Diaz, said the filing was not only meant to stop her from leaving, but it was also aimed to render inutile the temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court on the watchlist order of the DOJ.

Lambino questioned the jurisdiction of the Pasay RTC over Arroyo.

He said the charges should be have been filed before the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan, taking into consideration that Arroyo is a government official.

Ferdinand Topacio, legal counsel for Arroyo, said that even before the warrant was issued, it would be impossible for the judge to read the charge in two days.

He said the judge would have to be a “superman” to be able to read the entire document filed by the DOJ-Comelec panel.