Court to resume GMA poll sabotage trial

MANILA, Philippines – The Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC) will resume the trial of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for electoral sabotage on Feb. 18, a court officer said yesterday.

Lawyer Joel Pelicano of the Pasay RTC Branch 112 said the court would tackle the bail petition filed by Arroyo’s co-accused, former Maguindanao election officer Lintang Bedol.

The trial of the case was suspended in October last year due to the tight schedule of prosecution lawyers.

The camp of former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. had filed a motion to dismiss the case following his death.

Ampatuan and Bedol are Arroyo’s co-accused in the electoral sabotage case in connection with alleged cheating in Maguindanao in the 2007 midterm elections.

A court insider earlier said the trial may last three to five more years because of the number of witnesses and tight schedule of Commission on Election prosecutors and defense lawyers.

The source said the trial of Arroyo and her co–accused has been dragging because of the motions of both the prosecution and defense panels to reset hearings for various reasons.

He added election prosecutors would be busy performing poll duties for the May elections.

Court records showed that since the electoral sabotage case was filed in November 2011, only two out of more than 50 prosecution witnesses had taken the witness stand.

One of the witnesses, Norie Unas, former Maguindanao provincial administrator, testified during Arroyo’s bail hearings.

Unas, who implicated Arroyo in the electoral fraud, died of illness last year.

Although electoral sabotage is a non-bailable case, Pasay RTC Judge Jesus Mupas had allowed Arroyo to post bail after the prosecution failed to convince the court that there is strong evidence against her.

The judge’s decision was recently upheld by the Court of Appeals.

Arroyo is detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City on a separate plunder case in relation to alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds.