GMA co-accused in plunder case seeks furlough

MANILA, Philippines - A co-accused of Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her plunder case has asked the Sandiganbayan for a one-day furlough to seek medical treatment.

Benigno Aguas, former finance officer of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, urged the anti-graft court’s First Division to allow him to undergo an eye check-up.

He said Dr. Erwin Erfe examined him during a recent medical mission at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center at Camp Crame where he is detained and recommended that he seek medical attention from an ophthalmologist.

“Movant asks this court to allow him a day of furlough to enable him to undergo a thorough eye check-up,” Moises Tolentino Jr., lawyer for Aguas, said.