Amal Clooney to represent Arroyo? Palace not notified

Natashya Gutierrez

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Amal Clooney to represent Arroyo? Palace not notified

CANDICE IMBERT / COUNCIL OF EURO

'The government will respond accordingly' once it receives official notice that the international human rights lawyer has filed a case with the United Nations

MANILA, Philippines – Is international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney the newest counsel of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo?

Malacañang said on Monday, March 9, it had not yet been notified of the development.

“We have yet to receive a formal notice on the reported case filed by Ms Amal Alamuddin-Clooney before the United Nations,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr said.

“The government will respond accordingly, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), once we shall have received the requisite notice,” he said.

Coloma’s statement came as reports circulated that high-profile lawyer Amal Clooney filed a petition with the United Nations Human Rights Council in defense of Arroyo about the alleged violation of her rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

According to reports quoting Arroyo’s Filipino lawyers, Clooney asked that Arroyo be temporarily released to have the chance to seek medical treatment abroad. She reportedly said Arroyo’s detention at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City, given her medical condition and political status, violated ICCPR Articles 9, 14, 19, and 25. 

Arroyo, serving her second term as Pampanga representative, is under hospital arrest for plunder charges over the alleged misuse of P366 million of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office funds. 

Clooney’s other clients include WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and Ukraine’s former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. – Rappler.com

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Natashya Gutierrez

Natashya is President of Rappler. Among the pioneers of Rappler, she is an award-winning multimedia journalist and was also former editor-in-chief of Vice News Asia-Pacific. Gutierrez was named one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders for 2023.