Police: Release of mugshots up to court

MANILA, Philippines - The Southern Police District (SPD) clarified yesterday that it is up to the court to decide whether to release the mugshots of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Senior Superintendent James Bucayu, deputy chief of the SPD, said Arroyo’s mugshots are already considered court documents since they have been forwarded to the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 112.

Arroyo, 64, was formally booked last Saturday on electoral sabotage

charges. Her mugshots and fingerprints were taken, but the police refused to release them to the public.

Ferdinand Topacio, lawyer for the Arroyo family, admitted making a request to the police not to release the mugshots to avoid “further humiliating” Arroyo.

Topacio told reporters at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City last Saturday that the “responsibility should be shared by the police, courts and media.”

“We cannot just release copies. If somebody wants to get a copy, they have to ask the court,” Bucayu said.

Police mugshots of Arroyo are reportedly circulating in the Internet. The photographs show Arroyo with her neck brace on and wearing a violet top.

Bucayu claimed that he only saw black and white mug shots of Arroyo.

The head of the arresting team, Senior Superintendent Joel Coronel, claimed he had “not received any request from any lawyer,” and that they merely followed “standard procedures.”

“In this particular case, we took into consideration the present medical condition of the former president who was suffering from severe stress and hypertension last night. Until this afternoon, I was informed she was not yet feeling well. For this reason, we gave her a small latitude and of course the courtesy and respect accorded to the former president,” Coronel told reporters.

Contrary to the case of Arroyo’s predecessor, the arrest and booking of former President Joseph Estrada during her reign were covered by media. Estrada’s mugshots could be easily searched via the Internet.

When asked whether it was fair to Estrada, Topacio said, “I don’t think it’s an issue of fairness. These are different circumstances.”

“First of all our ex-president is a woman, and a woman is different from a man. That’s why we pity the former president. There are women here who do not want to be seen by the world at less thanour best,” he explained in Filipino.

Topacio said that he was just making an appeal and he has no plans to go after anyone should the photographs be leaked to the media.

“I would be the last person to curtail the freedom of the press,” Topacio said.

Coronel said the booking process on Arroyo started at about 1:45 p.m. last Saturday and lasted for two hours.

“We took her photographs, portrait and profile view, for our book reference. Police medical officers conducted the medical examination with her lawyers and her physicians present. Thereafter, her fingerprints and thumb prints were taken for our records,” said Coronel.

During the procedure, Arroyo was wearing an ordinary hospital gown and her neck brace (or minerva brace).

“At the time photographs were taken the (former) president was sitting on her hospital bed,” he said.

Coronel said the photos are “still in digital format and being processed. Second, the appropriate authority to release the photographs will be the court.”

Coronel said any leak of the photos would be investigated to see if someone can be held liable.

Lawyer Joel Pelicano, clerk of court of Pasay City RTC branch 112, said the mugshots could be released only upon request of the two parties as a courtesy to the former president.

He said as of yesterday there was no formal request for the release of the mugshots, which were submitted to the court together with the fingerprints and palm prints of Arroyo.

“If there are other requests then both parties will be informed for comment” Pelicano said.

Jose Flaminiano, lead counsel of Arroyo, said they would no longer file any motion not to release the mugshots to the media as it was the court that decided not to release the photos.

“Moto propio the court acted to ban the release of the mugshots to the media,” he said.

He said Arroyo, as former head of state, vice president, undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry deserves courtesy since she is not like an ordinary criminal charged in court.

Flaminiano said there is no justified reason to release the mugshots of the former president except to embarrass and ridicule her.

“Mrs. Arroyo does not deserve that kind of treatment,” he said.

Flaminiano said in the case of former President Joseph Estrada, for whom he also acted as defense counsel, the mugshots were taken at police headquarters at Camp Crame and it was too late for him to prevent the photos from being released to the media.

Once ordered by the court to take custody of the former president, the SPD could already detain her at headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

The SPD’s media lounge that is also used as a police library is being repainted and would serve as the detention cell of Arroyo while undergoing trial.

A new air-conditioning unit was installed at the media lounge and a new bed was added. The room has a bathroom and a kitchen.

“We are just preparing, just in case,” said an SPD policewoman. With Jaime Laude, Perseus Echeminada