MANILA: Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was detained on Thursday on charges of plunder, a crime which carries a maximum penalty of life in jail, in one of a series of corruption cases brought against her.
Less than three months after she was released on bail following about eight months in detention on charges of election fraud, the latest charge against the ailing Arroyo involves the more serious offense of misusing state lottery funds.
“When we arrived at the hospital, she was lying on the bed with an IV attached to her,” Senior Superintendent Joel Coronel, chief of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, told reporters. Arroyo, who suffers from a spine condition, was being treated for dehydration.
Coronel said Arroyo, 65, was “very cooperative” when police took her fingerprints and photos.
The Ombudsman’s office alleges that Arroyo and her co-accused of unlawfully acquiring and accumulating public funds amounting to 366 million pesos ($8.8 million) by diverting lottery funds for personal gain.
Nine of Arroyo's co-accused are mostly former senior officials of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). The charges against them and Arroyo are punishable by life imprisonment, with no bail allowed.
Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Arroyo conspired with PCSO officials and government auditors “to surreptitiously divert public funds sourced from PCSO’s operating budget for personal gain.”
Arroyo, president from 2001 to 2010, is unlikely to escape detention this time around as the charge under the Plunder Law is a non-bailable offense.
Another former Philippine President Joseph Estrada was pursued by the Arroyo administration under the same Plunder Law. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, but was pardoned a short time later.
Arroyo also faces allegations of graft over an aborted $329 million national broadband deal with China’s ZTE Corp. in 2007. She denies all charges and posted bail on both cases.
Both of the other cases are ongoing, with witness testimony under way.
Hospital confinement
Coronel said Arroyo would remain under confinement at the army hospital where she was held earlier this year.
Arroyo’s lawyers questioned the charges during oral arguments, and the court said it would take a second look.
Arroyo, who is suffering from a neck ailment, was detained for about eight months in a government hospital in a separate election sabotage case before she posted bail in July. She has also posted bail in another case against her that stems from a botched overpriced deal with a Chinese telecommunications company.
She has accused her successor, Benigno Aquino III, of pursuing a political vendetta. Aquino has accused Arroyo of graft and promised to rid the Philippines of corruption. His ratings remain high, and the cases against Arroyo and her inner circle are meant to highlight the Aquino administration’s determination to restore public and investor confidence in government.
Officials have denied Arroyo’s request to seek medical treatment abroad, saying she may not return to face the charges.
Arroyo’s lawyer Anacleto Diaz said Thursday that the witnesses against her had no personal knowledge of the transactions of the PCSO.
Arroyo, 65, now a member of Congress representing her home province of Pampanga, is seeking re-election next year. Her eldest son, Juan Miguel Arroyo, filed papers on her behalf Wednesday.
