GMA appeals bail petition

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is asking the Sandiganbayan to reverse its decision denying her bail.

In her motion for reconsideration, Arroyo said   the anti-graft court’s First Division committed a number of errors in denying her bail.

The court went against its own rulings that no raid of public coffers took place if the supposed raider did not benefit from the alleged act, she claimed.

No proof has been presented in court that she had committed the crime of plunder by amassing, accumulating and acquiring ill-gotten wealth, she said.

Arroyo said the First Division had deviated from its earlier stand when it granted similar requests for temporary liberty of former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) board chairman Sergio Valencia and former directors Manuel Morato and Raymundo Roquero.

Arroyo said the prosecution witness – PCSO board member Maria Aleta   Tolentino – admitted that she had no evidence that Arroyo had received any funds from the PCSO.