AS I was writing this column on Wednesday morning, the lawyer of former President and now Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) of Pampanga province, Ferdinand Topacio, announced that she would again attempt to leave the country. The announcement came a day after Immigration authorities barred her and her husband, Jose
Miguel Arroyo, from boarding a flight bound for Singapore.
Airport officials explained that they were merely following orders issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which by Tuesday night had yet to receive an official copy of the temporary restraining order (TRO) that the Supreme Court issued hours earlier. The Arroyos and their lawyers were aware of this time lag, but they had already booked airline seats and brought the apparently ailing Mrs. Arroyo to the airport—neck brace, wheelchair, ambulance, retainers and all.
Trained observers sensed that the flight attempt on Tuesday night was nothing but a publicity stunt designed to elicit pity for one of the most unpopular presidents the Philippines has ever had. While the media focus on the airport spectacle was intense, it did not seem to have had the effect desired by the Arroyos—not yet, anyway.
Informal polls on radio and TV call-in shows indicated sympathy, not for GMA, but for Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who was seen risking possible sanctions—including disbarment—by the Supreme Court as she stood her ground that the former president should not be allowed to leave the country pending the resolution of electoral sabotage and plunder cases against her and her husband. Instead of being seen as a persecutor, the feisty DOJ chief was viewed as trying to prevent a couple of wealthy criminal suspects from evading their just desserts.
True, those surveys are far from scientific; yet it would be foolish to dismiss them outright. As shown in countless cases in the past, it is the politically active segment of the population that is always ready to air their opinions via the media, cell phones and whatever means are available to them—the same segment, by the way, that has made and unmade two presidents, as well as allowed the stunning victory of a dark horse in last year’s race for the presidency.
The administration of President Benigno Aquino 3rd is well aware that popular opinion is not on the Arroyos’ side, which is why it seems quite willing to risk a confrontation with the Supreme Court over the watch list order (WLO) issue. In its bid to bring the former president, her kin and their underlings before the bar of justice, Malacañang is evidently ready to defy the highest tribunal in the land.
The rush to bring Mrs. Arroyo out of the government’s reach came a day after the joint committee of the DOJ and Commission on Elections (Comelec) concluded its preliminary investigation of the electoral sabotage case filed against the Arroyos and 38 others. The joint panel was expected to issue its resolution soon afterward—but, as it turned out, not soon enough to prevent the Supreme Court’s issuance of the TRO favoring the Arroyos.
The chairman of that committee, Prosecutor-General Claro Arellano, had rejected a motion filed by Mr. Arroyo through Topacio, who had sought to defer the DOJ-Comelec proceedings pending the resolution of a petition he filed before the High Court questioning the panel’s legality.
Arellano had also denied GMA’s petition—which was filed on her behalf by her lawyer Benjamin Santos—that sought to require the complainant, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd, to furnish her with other documents pertaining to his claim of electoral fraud in Maguindanao province.
According to Arellano, the joint panel will resolve the case even without the Arroyos’ counter-affidavits. “The panel resolves to deny the motion for extension,” panel member George Dee was quoted as saying in press reports.
“Likewise, the motion filed by former President Arroyo and the motion filed by former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo [are] likewise denied. The case is submitted for resolution,” he said.
In his complaint, Pimentel had alluded to the admission made by North Cotabato election supervisor Yogi Martirizar—remember the name—that the 2007 election results in that province had been rigged in favor of the Arroyo administration’s candidates for senator.
As a result, Pimentel was robbed of his rightful seat in the Senate—but was later shown to have actually won over GMA bet Juan Miguel Zubiri, who eventually resigned after three years as an illegitimate senator.
Besides giving testimony before the joint DOJ-Comelec panel, Martirizar was allegedly victimized by the previous administration, which had issued a WLO against her.
Online investigative reporter Raissa Robles posted on November 12 an article titled “Gloria Arroyo stopped a woman, with an illness and a case just like hers, from leaving the country for four years.”
Martirizar’s lawyer, Nena Santos, told Robles during an interview that her client suffered from an endocrine disorder—calcium absorption deficiency—similar to Mrs. Arroyo’s.
Over a four-year period, Martirizar reportedly tried to get medical treatment overseas, but was unable to get it because the Arroyo administration had imposed a WLO on her.
Like the Arroyos, Martirizar is also charged with electoral sabotage, Robles reported. And like them, her case also remains under preliminary investigation and has not yet reached the court.
Robles quoted Santos as saying, “When [the Arroyos] were not affected, it was okay for them to affect ordinary citizens like my client with the [WLO] and let her suffer. Now, it’s karma. They want it removed.”
It may seem late in the day, but the administration still has an opportunity to legally prevent the Arroyos from leaving the country without further straining its relations with the High Tribunal.
According to legal experts, the Supreme Court could yet be persuaded to rescind its TRO if the DOJ—with the concurrence of the Office of the Ombudsman—were to actually file a complaint against the former president, her husband and their associates before the Sandiganbayan.
Government prosecutors, however, have got to do so quickly—or see public sentiment turn in the Arroyos’ favor.
Miguel Arroyo, from boarding a flight bound for Singapore.
Airport officials explained that they were merely following orders issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ), which by Tuesday night had yet to receive an official copy of the temporary restraining order (TRO) that the Supreme Court issued hours earlier. The Arroyos and their lawyers were aware of this time lag, but they had already booked airline seats and brought the apparently ailing Mrs. Arroyo to the airport—neck brace, wheelchair, ambulance, retainers and all.
Trained observers sensed that the flight attempt on Tuesday night was nothing but a publicity stunt designed to elicit pity for one of the most unpopular presidents the Philippines has ever had. While the media focus on the airport spectacle was intense, it did not seem to have had the effect desired by the Arroyos—not yet, anyway.
Informal polls on radio and TV call-in shows indicated sympathy, not for GMA, but for Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who was seen risking possible sanctions—including disbarment—by the Supreme Court as she stood her ground that the former president should not be allowed to leave the country pending the resolution of electoral sabotage and plunder cases against her and her husband. Instead of being seen as a persecutor, the feisty DOJ chief was viewed as trying to prevent a couple of wealthy criminal suspects from evading their just desserts.
True, those surveys are far from scientific; yet it would be foolish to dismiss them outright. As shown in countless cases in the past, it is the politically active segment of the population that is always ready to air their opinions via the media, cell phones and whatever means are available to them—the same segment, by the way, that has made and unmade two presidents, as well as allowed the stunning victory of a dark horse in last year’s race for the presidency.
The administration of President Benigno Aquino 3rd is well aware that popular opinion is not on the Arroyos’ side, which is why it seems quite willing to risk a confrontation with the Supreme Court over the watch list order (WLO) issue. In its bid to bring the former president, her kin and their underlings before the bar of justice, Malacañang is evidently ready to defy the highest tribunal in the land.
The rush to bring Mrs. Arroyo out of the government’s reach came a day after the joint committee of the DOJ and Commission on Elections (Comelec) concluded its preliminary investigation of the electoral sabotage case filed against the Arroyos and 38 others. The joint panel was expected to issue its resolution soon afterward—but, as it turned out, not soon enough to prevent the Supreme Court’s issuance of the TRO favoring the Arroyos.
The chairman of that committee, Prosecutor-General Claro Arellano, had rejected a motion filed by Mr. Arroyo through Topacio, who had sought to defer the DOJ-Comelec proceedings pending the resolution of a petition he filed before the High Court questioning the panel’s legality.
Arellano had also denied GMA’s petition—which was filed on her behalf by her lawyer Benjamin Santos—that sought to require the complainant, Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd, to furnish her with other documents pertaining to his claim of electoral fraud in Maguindanao province.
According to Arellano, the joint panel will resolve the case even without the Arroyos’ counter-affidavits. “The panel resolves to deny the motion for extension,” panel member George Dee was quoted as saying in press reports.
“Likewise, the motion filed by former President Arroyo and the motion filed by former First Gentleman Mike Arroyo [are] likewise denied. The case is submitted for resolution,” he said.
In his complaint, Pimentel had alluded to the admission made by North Cotabato election supervisor Yogi Martirizar—remember the name—that the 2007 election results in that province had been rigged in favor of the Arroyo administration’s candidates for senator.
As a result, Pimentel was robbed of his rightful seat in the Senate—but was later shown to have actually won over GMA bet Juan Miguel Zubiri, who eventually resigned after three years as an illegitimate senator.
Besides giving testimony before the joint DOJ-Comelec panel, Martirizar was allegedly victimized by the previous administration, which had issued a WLO against her.
Online investigative reporter Raissa Robles posted on November 12 an article titled “Gloria Arroyo stopped a woman, with an illness and a case just like hers, from leaving the country for four years.”
Martirizar’s lawyer, Nena Santos, told Robles during an interview that her client suffered from an endocrine disorder—calcium absorption deficiency—similar to Mrs. Arroyo’s.
Over a four-year period, Martirizar reportedly tried to get medical treatment overseas, but was unable to get it because the Arroyo administration had imposed a WLO on her.
Like the Arroyos, Martirizar is also charged with electoral sabotage, Robles reported. And like them, her case also remains under preliminary investigation and has not yet reached the court.
Robles quoted Santos as saying, “When [the Arroyos] were not affected, it was okay for them to affect ordinary citizens like my client with the [WLO] and let her suffer. Now, it’s karma. They want it removed.”
It may seem late in the day, but the administration still has an opportunity to legally prevent the Arroyos from leaving the country without further straining its relations with the High Tribunal.
According to legal experts, the Supreme Court could yet be persuaded to rescind its TRO if the DOJ—with the concurrence of the Office of the Ombudsman—were to actually file a complaint against the former president, her husband and their associates before the Sandiganbayan.
Government prosecutors, however, have got to do so quickly—or see public sentiment turn in the Arroyos’ favor.
Comments
Post a Comment