Arroyo presses for bail in plunder case

MANILA, Philippines – Former President and now Pampanga Rep Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, detained for a plunder charge, implored the Sandiganbayan First Division on Tuesday, July 23, to grant her petition for bail and order her release from hospital arrest.

She invoked humanitarian grounds and insisted that there was no evidence in the plunder case against her.

In a 32-page motion filed through lawyers Anacleto Diaz, Maria Rosario del Rosario, and Analene Balisong, the 66-year-old Arroyo said her frail health and stature as a re-elected member of the Lower House constitute enough ground to negate suspicions that she can be considered a flight risk.

“If not her stature as a public figure, certainly her physical condition in terms of age and health magnify the humanitarian considerations that outweigh any claim that she may be a flight risk,” the defense pointed out.

Her lawyers stressed that Arroyo has consistently participated in all legal proceedings – from investigation stage at the Office of the Ombudsman and after the case was filed in court – in an effort to prove her innocence.

They noted that she has been under continuous hospital arrest since October 4, 2012, when the Sandiganbayan issued a warrant for her arrest based on the plunder charge.

By observing legal procedures, the defense argued, Arroyo has shown that she has no intention of evading prosecution. This is further proof that she will not abscond once released, they said.

Arroyo’s legal team also underscored the absence of any evidence that she amassed ill-gotten wealth when P366 million of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) operating funds were converted into confidential intelligence funds and eventually disbursed.

Since the prosecution’s evidence failed to show that any of the accused unlawfully enriched himself by at least P50 million, the defense said Arroyo should have been granted bail along with her co-defendants PCSO board chairman Sergio Valencia and directors Manuel Morato, and Raymundo Roquero.

It stressed that the Sandiganbayan has dismissed another plunder case, People vs. Belicena et. al., on March 9, 2011, based solely on the ground that there was no proof that any public officer accused unjustly enriched himself to the tune of at least P50 million.

In the said ruling, Arroyo’s lawyers reminded the Sandiganbayan that the court declared that proof of having amassed ill-gotten wealth in that amount was necessary and indispensable and that, “without this element, there can be no plunder.”

“Therefore, the prosecution cannot dispense with the need to establish gain or profit to an accused in a plunder case, by arguing that the predicate act of ‘raid on public treasury’ does not require personal gain or benefit,” the defense said. – Rappler.com