'GMA entitled to privileges unless found guilty'

MANILA, Philippines - Unless proven guilty of the electoral sabotage raps filed against her, Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is entitled to special privileges befitting her stature as a former head of state and should not be transferred to a regular jail facility, her counsel said yesterday.

Arroyo’s lawyer Benjamin Santos filed a supplemental comment on the motion of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seeking Arroyo’s transfer to a regular detention cell.

Santos said that as former president and a “visible national symbol” associated with the presidency, Arroyo is entitled to security and protection by the state.

“As the case of former President Joseph Estrada clearly shows, the house arrest or separate and alternative preventive detention of a former chief executive is well justified and in full accordance with the equal protection constitutional guarantee,” the lawyer said.

Arroyo, who is facing two counts of electoral sabotage charge in relation to the May 2007 midterm election, remains under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City.

The supplemental motion said that under the law, former presidents are entitled to security in his/her lifetime.

“Former President Arroyo thus belongs to a unique class, and the accused is among the select few,” the motion read.

Arroyo’s counsel added that transferring the former president to a regular jail facility will endanger her personal security and health condition, considering the situation of detention facilities in the country.

The supplemental comment was submitted as the Pasay City Regional Trial Court resumes today its hearing on the motion filed by the Comelec for Arroyo’s transfer from VMMC to a regular jail.