Lawyers eye filing charges against Arroyo accusers

Police officers walk past a tarpaulin outside a government hospital at suburban Quezon city, northeast of Manila, Philippines, where former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is currently detained Wednesday, July 20, 2016. On Tuesday the Philippine Supreme Court dismissed a plunder charge against her and ordered her freed immediately after nearly five years of hospital detention. The release did not happen Wednesday due to certain "procedural" technicalities such as signatures of all justices and submission of dissenting and concurrence opinions. AP/Bullit Marquez

MANILA, Philippines — The lawyers of Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are considering to file charges against her accusers following her acquittal.

The Supreme Court recently dismissed a plunder case against Arroyo over her alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) intelligence funds.

Arroyo's legal team is studying to file charges against the people who caused her detention, according to a report from The STAR.

"We are studying that matter very carefully. Hindi naman kami Ombudsman na kumikilos nang hindi pinag-aaralan," lawyer Ferdinand Topacio told members of the press on Thursday.

The former president has been under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center since 2012.

The high court also ordered her immediate release following the dismissal of her case due to lack of evidence.

READ: Procedures stall GMA release

Meanwhile, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said that government prosecutors had sufficient evidence to prove Arroyo's guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The Office of the Ombudsman is still looking into another plunder case against Arroyo which also arose from her alleged misuse of PCSO intelligence funds worth P50 million from 2004 to 2007. — with reports from Robertzon Ramirez

READ: Ombudsman not giving up on GMA plunder rap

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