P-Noy vows to stop GMA from seeking treatment abroad

DAVAO CITY, Philippines  – President Aquino assured the public here yesterday that he will do everything he can to block the attempt of detained former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to seek medical surgery abroad, noting that she no longer has credibility over purported life-threatening illnesses.

He made the promise when asked if the executive department, in particular the Bureau of Immigration, would allow the former president, now a Pampanga congresswoman, to leave the airport if the Pasay City court gives its go-signal for the surgery.

“If the court allows her to leave, then we will do something to make sure that justice won’t be delayed,” Aquino told reporters at the Grand Regal Hotel here.

According to him, the wheels of justice should not be “postponed indefinitely until she decides to come back to the country.”

Aquino recalled that in late 2011, the government was proven right in denying Arroyo the chance to seek medical treatment abroad, especially since it turned out that her case was neither debilitating nor a life-threatening one.

He said he noticed that the same set of arguments of Arroyo’s camp “seems to be cropping up again this time.”

“So, what is the difference of what they were saying before and what they are saying now?” Aquino asked.

He said they will be weighing their options upon the advice of medical and legal experts. 

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda had also said that Arroyo’s medical condition should first be verified before allowing her to seek treatment abroad.

Arroyo, who is facing charges of electoral sabotage, a non-bailable offense in connection with the May 2007 senatorial polls, is under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center.