Estrada says Arroyo should be allowed to go abroad for medical treatment
Cites his case when he was allowed to go abroad after being arrested in 2001
Manila: Former president Joseph Estrada said that former president and now Congresswoman Gloria Arroyo should be allowed to go abroad for medical treatment for a bad spine, citing his case when he was allowed to go abroad for a medical treatment in 2004, after he was arrested for plunder in 2001.
The Sandiganbayan, an anti-graft court, allowed him to go to Honk Kong for a titanium implant in his knee surgery in 2004, Estrada told the Star.
Dr Christopher Mow went to Hong Kong for the surgery on December 27, 2004. “At the time four policemen from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and three Hong Kong policemen were assigned to guard me,” Estrada recalled, adding he returned to the Philippines on January 15, 2005.
He underwent physical therapy at his rest house in Tanay, eastern suburban Rizal, where he was allowed to serve time while his case was heard until his conviction in 2007.
In the case of Arroyo, the International Police (Interpol) could always track her down if she went missing while abroad, said Estrada.
Last week, Arroyo choked while eating, prompting her return to Veterans Memorial Medical Centre in suburban Quezon City where she has been held under hospital arrest since early this year.
Last year, Arroyo had a titanium implant in her cervix spine at St. Luke’s Medical Centre in suburban Taguig.
A lower regional trial court allowed her to post bail, giving her temporary freedom while the case of electoral fraud that she allegedly committed in 2007 is being heard.
