Court grants Gloria Arroyo's bail petition

MANILA, Philippines - A Pasay City court judge has allowed former President and now Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to post bail in connection with her electoral sabotage case.

The sheriff of the Pasay Regional Trial Court has gone to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City to serve the bail order to Arroyo.

Judge Jesus Mupas of the Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 112 signed on Tuesday a resolution granting Arroyo's petition for bail. The resolution states that the former president can post a P1 million bail for her temporary release from detention.

Meanwhile, Mupas denied the petition for bail of Arroyo's co-accused, former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. and former election supervisor Lintang Bedol.

Court spokesperson Celda Domingo said that Mupas denied the bail petitions of Ampatuan and Bedol because they were directly implicated by prosecution witness Norie Unas in the alleged riggingh of the 2007 elections.

Domingo said that the court allowed Arroyo's bail petition because the evidence on her supposed involvement in the massive election cheating was not strong.

"The evidence against GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) is not as strong as [those presented against] Bedol and Ampatuan," Domingo said in media briefing after the court issued the omnibus order on the case.

Domingo said the Commission on Elections' (Comelec) lawyers handling the case can file a motion for reconsideration on the decision.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes said that they will apeal the ruling. He said that they were still verifying if the bail order was "immediately executory."

On Tuesday, the Sandiganbayan issued a hold departure order on Arroyo and her nine co-accused in the plunder case stemming from the alleged misuse of intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office,

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Malacañang is leaving Arroyo's case to the court's jurisdiction and the Comelec.

"We have not received confirmation yet, kung sakaling totoo po iyan po ay nasa jurisdiction ng korte. Hindi namin alam ang gagawin ng prosecutors... we recognize the jurisdiction of Judge Mupas," Lacierda said.

Arroyo filed the petition for bail before the Pasay court last March 22.

'Not surprised'

As Militant group Bayan, meanwhile, slammed the court's granting of bail to the former president.

"While we are definitely upset at this development, we are not surprised. This may well have been the result of the rushed case filed in November last year to prevent (Arroyo) from leaving the country as the Supreme Court upheld its restraining order on the DOJ (Department of Justice) travel ban,” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said.

The case against Arroyo stemmed from the complaint filed by the Comelec regarding the alleged massive cheating in the 2007 polls.

The case of electoral sabotage brought before the Pasay RTC was the result of a joint probe by the Comelec and Department of Justice.

The former president had tried to leave the country before the case was filed before Mupas's court in November last year.

She was prevented by the DOJ from leaving the country despite the Supreme Court order allowing her to leave the country for a medical checkup.

She was eventually ordered arrested and brought to the VMMC for detention.