GMA’s toddler grandson dies

MANILA, Philippines - The 13-month-old grandson of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo died yesterday morning due to complications from a congenital heart ailment.

Lawyer Larry Gadon, one of Arroyo’s legal advisers, said Jorge Alonzo Arroyo Bernas, youngest son of Evangeline “Luli” Arroyo-Bernas and Luigi Bernas, died at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City at around 9:30 a.m.

A member of the lawmaker’s staff said the baby, nicknamed Jugo, was rushed to the hospital by his father last night from their house after seeing his son not feeling well but this was not confirmed.

There were no other details yet from the family. Luli is known to be fiercely protective of her family’s privacy.

Relatives said Arroyo, who is detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City on plunder charges, was devastated upon learning of her grandson’s death.

“I don’t know how to describe it, but she (Arroyo) kept on crying,” a visitor who rushed to the VMMC told The STAR. “She loves her grandchildren so much.”

Other members of the Arroyo family, including former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, were apparently on their way back from Japan following a brief vacation.

Gadon said Arroyo may file a petition today for a furlough before the Sandiganbayan, where her case is being heard. The court granted bail to the majority of her alleged co-conspirators in the plunder case. Two of them were allowed bail despite eluding arrest for a long period.

In the Mother’s Day column of Mons Romulo in The STAR last May, Luli spoke of her biggest sacrifice as a mother after Jugo was diagnosed as having a couple of serious heart ailments even when he was still in her womb.

“We have to be very careful that he doesn’t catch any respiratory illnesses because these can be fatal for him. This means we have to limit his contact with friends and family, and consequently, I have also had to spend less time with them so I can tend to him. He also still needs to feed every few hours because he can only take a limited amount of milk in one sitting, so up to now I get up every few hours at night for his milk to make sure he can get the maximum calorie intake each day,” Luli said.

“In the mornings I have to buck my sleepiness, so that I can devote my attention to my older son. I am very grateful I have a patient and loving husband who makes the same sacrifices for our kids and doesn’t complain when I don’t get to take care of him as I did before we had kids,” she added.