Manila, Philippines - Good health.
That is what the family of Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wishes for her this Mother’s Day.
“We love her very much. Her grandchildren love her very much and we’re all very proud to be her children,” Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Mikey Arroyo said in a telephone interview.
“I pray that she remains strong as she always is,” he said.
The former president is now detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) on charges of electoral sabotage.
The young Arroyo said his mother remains prayerful despite her frail health and numerous criminal cases filed against her.
Aside from poll raps, Arroyo is also facing charges of graft and corruption in connection with the anomalous broadband network deal with China’s ZTE Corporation.
The 64-year-old Arroyo is also accused of corruption and human rights violations before the Sandiganbayan, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice.
Former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo wished that “she gets well soon and the trumped up cases against her be dismissed.”
Arroyo on Thursday underwent a series of tests at the Makati Medical Center.
According to her allies, she needs to undergo surgery abroad as the titanium implants on her neck have protruded, making it difficult and painful for her to swallow food.
Meanwhile, Tanggol Bayi, an association defending the human rights of women, hailed Filipina mothers for pursuing women’s interests and the poor and marginalized in the country.
Merry Mia Clamor, convenor of Tanggol Bayi, said it is important that “beyond the pomp and commercialized celebrations of Mother’s Day worldwide, the general public should be reminded of the simple yet significant lives of mothers who are fighting for a better world for their children.”