Erap supports GMA stay at Veterans

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Joseph Estrada supported yesterday the continued stay of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).

Estrada, who was also jailed at the VMMC while the Sandiganbayan Special Court was trying his plunder case, said the court should show Arroyo some leniency being a woman.

“I think she can continue to be held in hospital arrest, not because she is a former president, because I myself suffered being incarcerated in a regular prison, but because she is a woman,” he said.

Maintaining that no one is above the law, the former leader, who was booted out of office in 2001 and imprisoned for plunder for six and a half years, added that showing Arroyo some compassion by allowing her to remain under hospital arrest would not erase the essence that the law is applicable to all.

Estrada was first held in Camp Crame then transferred to Sta. Rosa, before being moved to VMMC after three years of regular imprisonment and only placed under house arrest during the last two years of his incarceration.

He said he does not want Arroyo to suffer what he suffered.

Arroyo is presently undergoing therapy at the VMMC.

The Pasay Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 112 deferred ruling on the motion filed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) seeking to transfer her from the hospital to a regular jail facility.

Former first gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, meanwhile, appealed to RTC Judge Jesus Mupas to heed the recommendation of his wife’s doctors that she needs to remain at the VMMC.

“I hope the judge will favorably consider the recommendations of the doctors. They are from the VMMC,” Mike said in a telephone interview.

He said his wife is undergoing almost daily physical therapy and is also required to wear a stiff corset for extended periods.

GMA followers call for dignified treatment

During yesterday’s trial, Antonio Sison, VMMC orthopedic consultant, testified before the sala of Judge Mupas that after three major surgeries, the former president is not completely cured and needs close supervision on her daily therapy at the hospital.

He said it would take six to eight months for her spinal column to heal completely.

“Given her present condition it is better that she be treated in the hospital because of daily therapy and other medical needs,” he said, adding that the former president will need lifetime maintenance treatment.

Outside the court, at least 500 people calling themselves “Kongreso ng Maralita” converged at the Pasay City hall grounds to express their sympathy for Arroyo.

Ang Galing party-list Rep. Mikey Arroyo was seen with the group but declined to answer questions regarding the health of his mother.

When pressed for a statement, the younger Arroyo referred the reporters to the leader of the group, Ramon de Leon.

Sison said they have reviewed the past medical records and conducted an assessment, which showed that Arroyo has not been fully cured and signs of arthritis were found in her spinal column.

He explained that the bone illness of the patient affects the spinal column, which serves as the nerve center of the body directly connected to the brain.

Sison was presented as witness by the Comelec to support their motion for the transfer of the former president from VMMC to a regular jail facility in Metro Manila.

The Comelec lawyers were assisted by Department of Justice assistant state prosecutor Maria Herrera.

The court earlier ordered VMMC to submit a medical report on the actual health condition of the patient.

Sison is part of a five-man medical team that is conducting daily medical checkup and therapy on the former president.

The other doctors – Rafaelita Javier, Victoria Javier, Martha Nocum and Ruben Cardinas – were also present during the hearing.

The court postponed the hearing to Feb. 9 for the resumption of the cross-examination of Sison and the presentation of another witness to support their motion that the former president be transferred to a jail facility and treated as an outpatient.

The protesters, mostly women with their children, displayed placards asking for temporary liberty for the former president.

“Laya muna habang linilitis (Freedom while trial is ongoing),” one placard read.

The group also called for dignified treatment of Arroyo as former head of state, then peacefully dispersed at around 11 a.m. after the hearing. – Perseus Echeminada, Paolo Romero