GMA back at VMMC after Christmas furlough

MANILA, Philippines – Thankful and happy that she was given the chance to spend Christmas with her loved ones, former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo went back to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) yesterday after a four-day stay at her residence in La Vista subdivision in Quezon City.

Complying with the Sandiganbayan’s directives, the Philippine National Police (PNP) brought Arroyo back to the hospital where she has been detained for more than two years since her arrest in October 2012.

Arroyo, who is suffering from a degenerative bone disease, is accused of plunder for her alleged involvement in the misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) funds.

“We’re really grateful that the court allowed her to go home this time and she had the opportunity to spend Christmas with her family at home,” Laurence Hector Arroyo, one of the former President’s defense counsels, told The STAR yesterday.

He said Mrs. Arroyo spent noche buena privately with her family and he believes that the furlough was good for her and her health, considering that she has been under hospital arrest for so long.

Another of her defense lawyers, Modesto Ticman Jr., earlier told The STAR that the chance to spend Christmas at home was the best Christmas gift the former President received.

The furlough allowed Arroyo to spend time with her husband, children and grandchildren.

Magistrates of the anti-graft court cited humanitarian grounds and compassion in granting the former President’s request, along with the upcoming visit of Pope Francis in January, which is themed “Mercy and Compassion.”

Arroyo was allowed to leave the VMMC at 10 a.m. on Tuesday and was directed to return to the hospital by Friday at 2 p.m.

No ‘selfies’ for visitors

In compliance with the Sandiganbayan’s conditions, Arroyo, who turns 68 on April 5, did not grant any media interview or make statements during the furlough.

However, a source from Arroyo’s family lamented that PNP personnel have also prevented visitors and well-wishers from having pictures taken with her while inside her home.

The source told The STAR that while the court’s decision stated that no interviews will be granted, “the PNP also interpreted this to include banning ‘selfies’ or having pictures taken with her.”

The policemen, however, were not able to prevent a group of nuns from taking their pictures with her on Wednesday.

Worse, the source added, the PNP has stationed its personnel inside Arroyo’s house to monitor activities of the family, which has unnerved relatives and visitors.

The source said the former President asked her family members and lawyers not to press the issue as it may result in a backlash on the PNP personnel assigned to her, who were merely following orders from the higher-ups.

A member of Arroyo’s legal team said the prohibition was practically illegal as she is only a detainee, and that she was on a Christmas furlough.

The lawyer said that such a prohibition would be illegal even at the VMMC.

Arroyo’s defense counsels are currently fighting for the junking of the plunder case against her through a demurer to evidence, a pleading which asks a court to dismiss the charges halfway through the trial based on the legal argument that the prosecution, after presenting its witnesses, failed to prove its case.

The Sandiganbayan is yet to resolve matter with ombudsman lawyers opposing the motion on the basis of their belief that that they were able to show sufficient evidence against the accused and her fellow respondents.

Three of Arroyo’s co-accused were allowed to post bail by the Sandiganbayan earlier this year. – With Paolo Romero