Gloria Arroyo set to file candidacy for 3rd term as Pampanga lawmaker

Ryan Macasero

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Gloria Arroyo set to file candidacy for 3rd term as Pampanga lawmaker

EPA

The former president's lawyer confirms that a Lakas-CMD staff member will file her certificate of candidacy in Pampanga on her behalf next week


MANILA, Philippines – Despite her detention and deteriorating health, former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will file her certificate of candidacy (COC) for a third term as Pampanga 2nd District Representative next week, her laywer said.

At a press conference on Thursday, October 8, Raul Lambino, a senior member Lakas-CMD, confirmed that a staff member from the party will file the COC in Pampanga on behalf of the former president. 

Pinrepepare ko ang kanyang (I’m preparing her) certificate of nomination as an official candidate of Lakas-CMD,” Lambino said. He added that she could file her COC as early as October 12. 

Arroyo’s detention cannot be used as ground to disqualify her candidacy since she has not been convicted. She has been detained since 2012 for plunder charges arising from alleged misuse of P366 million in Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office intelligence funds for personal gain from 2008 to 2010.

She is under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.

Responding to questions, Lambino said that Arroyo has continued to perform her duties as a lawmaker even while in detention.

“Even while being detained,  Arroyo is among the representatives with the most number of bills being filed and passed into law,” he said in Filipino.

According to the House of Representatives website, Arroyo has filed over 250 bills during her two terms in Congress.

Lambino confirmed Arroyo’s re-election bid on the same day that her lawyers announced the opinion of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) that her detention “violates” international law.

The complaint with the UN body was filed in hopes that the international organization could compel the Philippine government to grant house arrest for the lawmaker who is sick with “multilevel cervical spondylosis,” a disorder that causes wearing of the bones.

On Wednesday, however, Malacañang said that while it respects UN opinion, “the Philippine government or any international body, for that matter, cannot interfere nor influence the course of an independent judicial proceeding.”– Rappler.com 

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Nobuhiko Matsunaka

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Ryan Macasero

Ryan covers social welfare for Rappler. He started at Rappler as social media producer in 2013, and later took on various roles for the company: editor for the #BalikBayan section, correspondent in Cebu, and general assignments reporter in the Visayas region. He graduated from California State University, East Bay, with a degree in international studies and a minor in political science. Outside of work, Ryan performs spoken word poetry and loves attending local music gigs. Follow him on Twitter @ryanmacasero or drop him leads for stories at ryan.macasero@rappler.com