Manila: Former president Gloria Arroyo was formally charged with electoral sabotage yesterday — the latest episode in a developing court drama concerning one of the most vilified Philippine leaders after Ferdinand Marcos.
Fingerprints of Arroyo, 64, were taken with the former leader wearing a neck brace.
However, instead of being subjected to the humiliation of having to walk to the photo booth to be photographed, the former president and current congressional representative of Central Luzon's Pampanga was only required to submit her pictures, Ferdinand Topacio, lawyer of Arroyo's husband, Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, said in a television interview.
Jose Arroyo is facing a separate charge of fraud in a multi-million peso police helicopter acquisition contract in 2010.
The developments have been unfolding at a frenetic pace in the normally slow Philippine judicial process. Arroyo has been under hospital arrest in the custody of the Philippine National Police since Friday afternoon after suburban Pasay City trial court judge, Jesus Mupas, issued a warrant to take her in.
Probable cause
Mupas had found "probable cause" that Arroyo was involved in electoral fraud in connection with the 2007 elections.
Earlier on the same day, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) voted to file electoral sabotage charges against Arroyo and three others — Benjamin Abalos, who was chair of the Comelec at the time when the alleged fraud was committed, as well as Comelec election supervisor in Mindanao Lintang Bedol, former governor of Maguindanao Andal Ampatuan Senior and several others.
Several days prior to Arroyo's arrest, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima tried to prevent her from leaving the country by putting her on an immigrations watchlist.
Arroyo underwent neck and spine surgery in late September and had been moving around in a wheelchair wearing a neck-brace. She was supposed to leave the country for Singapore and later, Germany, to seek further treatment.
The presidential palace, in a statement, said it is determined to prosecute Arroyo. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said government lawyers will "ensure that justice will be done". "Our OSG [Office of the Solicitor General] will certainly do its best in all the cases that it represents the government on," Valte said in a radio interview over government-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan yesterday.
